13 Hours
by Ice Angel262
Summary: Sarah's grand-daughter, Kassydie Monarch, must now traverse a much more dangerous labyrinth than her grandma ever described. Jareth/OC  A bit softer than most M but a bit too hard for T. I'm sorry! I'll write an epilogue!  WIP
1. Preface

**I made this as a note on my iPod last night when I couldn't sleep. I sent it to my friends and they thought the same as I. Well, now the story has a preface!!**

He is proud, arrogant. The world is his and he can do with it as he pleases. Nothing is beyond his reach. Nothing can be refused to him.

She was selfish and fanciful. Her own world wasn't good enough for her and he loved her for it. It would be fun to send her through the labyrinth. She wouldn't make it without a little help from him. Even if she didn't make it he could keep her.

But she grew in the labyrinth. Nothing was as it seemed, not even her. She showed that she was as courageous as she was selfish. That she was as kind as she was self absorbed. She shared qualities with him and had many he didn't.

He both loved and hated her for it. His mixed emotions caused him to meddle with her journey irrationally and randomly. And he fell in love with her.

And she defeated him. She broke him and she denied him! She had cast an irrevocable spell of affection on him and though he gave her what she wanted and offered her so much more she rejected him.

And for that he hated her. His pride was broken and his wrath would be felt in all if his subjects.

And she tortured him still. She tortured him by not caring. By moving on with her life when he couldn't. By loving men. Other men. And bearing their seed and loving their children and their children's children.

And he hated her for growing old. She grew old, rotted, as he stayed trapped in bitterness and relentless youth and forced to watch her enjoy withering away. Forced to watch her mourn her lover as he reveled in the other man's passing. She highlighted all of his most terrible qualities and forced him to see. And she neared death. What would he cling to when he couldn't even watch her any longer? So fragile and she could have been so strong.

As strong as the black haired little girl with the captivating blue eyes? This little girl who had nothing but her dying Grandma? He was fascinated when her grandchild smiled. She had nothing for which to smile. And for eighteen years his attentions began to wean from his dying love to the person she loved most of all. Her granddaughter.

And when she neared death he found his anchor in this girl.

When his only love died, he acted quickly to secure her to him.

Because after tasting love he knew he could not live without it.

**Rebound.**


	2. Once Upon a Time

**Hello everyone!! I've recently watched the labyrinth about thirty times (not kidding) and became obsessed with it. How could I just leave it at an ending where Sarah grows out of everything and Jareth is left out? I couldn't, that's how. This is not my normal venue of fanfiction and I'm certain my audience will be quite different; however, I thought it would be fun. As all my other fanfics this is merely an indulgence of my own. I would be delighted to hear from fans of L's Protector on this. I've kept everyone from the story long enough!! Here's to new things!!!**

Once upon a time, there was a funeral. It is a decidedly unorthodox beginning but, this funeral kicks off our story.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie Monarch stood hollow over the fresh grave of her grandmother. She had been laying beside the open grave for awhile and had finally just been able to let them cover her grandmother with six feet of fresh earth. At a funeral, one expects gloom. However, the weather was particularly nice. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and there was just enough breeze for Kassydie to be comfortable in the heavy Saki Hanajima cosplay she had chosen to wear to the funeral service.

Her fingers drifted to her now empty neck. Before she had let the workers fill the grave she had thrown her necklace in to be with her grandmother. It was a necklace with an alternating gold and silver chain. Hanging from this chain was a gold and silver Barn Owl, clutching and spherical crystal in its wings. She had received it as a present for her fifteenth birthday. It was on a plush goblin toy that she'd found waiting for her when she'd returned home.

Right now, Kassydie was planting flowers. Her grandmother had planted her favorite flowers and Grandpa Damien's favorite flowers next to his headstone. Now it was Kassydie's turn to take the place that should have been her father's. She planted her favorite flower with her grandmother's favorite flower. She and her grandmother had always favored irises. Kassydie patted the dirt around a group of stark white irises: her grandmother's favorite. She was shoveling a place for the black irises she favored when an owl alighted upon her grandmother's shining new headstone.

Kassydie looked up at the barn owl and struck up friendly conversation.

"Hello there," she held out a tentative hand, wondering if the bird would let her pet him, "My you're lovely aren't you? Is it okay to touch you?"

The owl pulled back a little, hesitated, then took a couple of steps forward and bowed his head regally to Kassydie's touch.

Kassydie stroked the different feathers, amazed at the diverse textures. "So soft," She pulled her hand away and returned to burrying the black irises next to the white ones. "Did you come to pay your respects?"

The owl seemed to nodd it's head.

"You seem tamed. I think Grandmother Sarah would have loved you."

The bird twittered negatively.

"No really, she liked animals. Owls weren't her favorite, they're mine, but she always liked dogs best."

The owl cocked his head to the side and looked contemplative.

Kassydie sat back and looked at the flowers as they swayed in the slight breeze. Tears she hadn't known escaped splashed lightly onto her hand. She folded in on herself again, huddled on the ground.

"I can't believe she's gone, Mr. Owl." Kassydie sniffed through tears, "She was- she's……well, at least now she's with Grandpa Damien."

The owl looked at Sarah's gravestone. It looked as if he was inspecting the little goblins and fairies etched in the cold marble beside Sarah's name and the epitat 'Things are not always what they seem.' It had been something that her grandmother had always told Kassydie when she went to her in tears about something Mirahnda had done.

"KASSYDIE!!!!!"

"C-coming, Mirahnda!!" Kassydie stood up and dusted herself off. "Bye, Mr. Owl. It was nice talking to you. Thank you for letting me touch you."

Kassydie left the sunny graveyard behind, the owl still watching her departure.

*^*%*^*

"What are you doing?!" shrieked Kassydie upon entering her room that evening.

Mirahnda, her step-mother, turned to her and blew filthy cigarrette smoke from between her thin lips.

"I'm just getting rid of this kiddy shit. You're eighteen now anyway, you shouldn't be so attached to these comics and fairy tales."

She shoved past the helpless Kassydie with a large trash bag filled with her manga and old fairy tale books, some of which were from her grandmother.

"You can't!!" Kassydie screamed, "Those are my books!! I bought them myself!"

Mirahnda blew another line of smoke into Kassydie's face, "Now I'm selling them. You still live here, what's yours is mine," Mirahnda sucked another drag from her dirty coffin nail, "Just be thankful I'm not throwing out your stupid costumes and toys."

"But, what about the books grandma gave me?!" Kassydie argued futiley.

"No point in keeping them now that she's dead, is there?" Mirahnda shrugged past Kassydie and was soon gone.

Kassydie threw herself helplessly onto her bed with a distressed cry. Her head came into contact with something hard and sharp. She turned over, rubbing her sore head, to look at it properly.

"She missed this one," Kassydie whispered to herself as she read the title of her grandmother's favorite book, "Labyrinth. Thank you, Grandma Sarah."

Kassydie sniffed and checked the clock. She stood up and left the room, cluthcing the book within the folds of her Saki Hanajima cosplay.

"Hello, Jamie," Kassydie cooed through sniffles as she looked down into the crib where her half-sister lay. "Time for your medicine."

Little Jamie was only one year old but she had been diagnosed with a terrible illness shortly after her birth. The illness was treatable with doses of medicine every two hours. This responsibility was Kassydie's and Mirahnda's until Jamie was old enough to be responsible for herself.

Smiling, Kassydie squirted the pale white medicine gently into Jamie's mouth. Jamie sputtered and made a face.

"I know it's nasty," Kassydie sympathized, "But it'll keep you healthy. Maybe you'll even grow out of it? I hope so. Even if I know Mirahnda takes great care of you I'll be worried when I go to college. Ah, you don't want to hear this do you? Do you want a story?"

Jamie giggled and clapped her little hands. "Sharrr, Labynth." She demanded as only a child can.

"That one again? I've told you that story hundreds of times. Are you sure you don't want a story besides the one about Grandma Sarah in the Labyrinth of the sinister Goblin King?"

"Labynth," Jamie insisted with unwavering adamance.

"Alright, alright," Kassydie said patiently. She placed Jamie comfortably in the crib and recounted Grandma Sarah's story about being in the Labyrinth of Jareth, the Goblin King, until Jamie had fallen soundly asleep. Kassydie silently retrieved the bottle of medicine and her book, she hovered by the doorway, her finger on the lightswitch. Grandma Sarah had never told them the words that had whisked little Toby away. She had always insisted the story was real, though Kassydie was a little doubtful. Still, Kassydie wanted to put something into the story that would take Toby away and placate Jamie's hunger for more information each time the story was told.

"Maybe something like, 'I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now.'" Kassydie mumbled to herself as she shut off the light. "Sounds nice, Jamie will like it anyway."

A rustling in the room gave Kassydie a pause, she listened. More restless rustling. Kassydie walked slowly back into the nursery. Everything seemed fine. She glanced at the window, the wind had picked up during the night.

Non-baby laughter echoed from the crib.

"Jamie?" Kassydie called nervously. The rising moon cast the room in an eerie glow. She peeked into the empty crib and felt sick panic rise in her throat. "Jamie?"

Shadows jumped and snickered around her as Kassydie called out for her younger half-sister. "Jamie where are you?" Kassydie ran out of the room in search of the child. The unruly shadows flanked her just outside her peripheral vision. Kassydie rushed through the entire little three bedroom loft and Jamie was no where to be found. Jamie found herself back in the nursery, clutching her book and Jamie's medicine nervously.

"Jamie, come out, wherever you are!!" Kassydie called shakily. "Jamie where are you?" The snickering increased.

The windows slammed open and a cold gust of wind rushed in and swallowed Kassydie's shriek. When she stood a gorgeuous man stood in her wake. Kassydie stood in shock and took in his angular features, strong build, and feathery blonde hair. His eyes captured her the most, the pupils were mismatched and peculiar. Kassydie finaly got hold of herself when the regally dressed man smirked at her.

"What have you done with Jamie?" She demanded fiercly.

"Only what you have asked," he replied in a deep voice and attractive accent that, put together, could only sound arrogant and coy.

"You victorian-goth freak!" She accused, "Where do you get off on kidnapping little girls!!? Give. Her. BACK!"

He cocked an eyebrow, "Who do you think I am?"

"I'm calling the police!" Kassydie turned and ran even before she spoke the words but tiny goblins blocked her path. When she attempted, nobly, to jump over them the jumped on her and grasped her legs, pulling her down. Kassydie kicked and fought against them. She kicked and scratched and bit until she had exhausted enough strength that she could hardly breath.

"You're the Goblin King, then?" She asked through pants and gasps for air.

He nodded with an air of dignity. "You put on an amusing show."

"Where's Jamie?" She gasped.

"Over there," he gestured out the window, "In my castle, of course."

Kassydie stood, picking up the medicine and book she'd dropped. "My grandmother told stories about you."

He nodded again and produced a crystal out of nowhere. He juggled it from hand to hand, a taunt and challenge to her.

"Then you should know what this is," he said, "Your dreams, your happiness. All in here. You've heard the stories, why bother? Just forget about the baby, Kassydie. It would be such a pity to watch you fall."

"Has anyone ever accepted that crap?"

"Countless," he ignored her unlady-like cursing.

Kassydie glared at him with dark blue eyes that currently looked cold and hateful, her long black hair hung still around her and made her seem much paler than she actually was, a very Romanian girl.

"I refuse. Grandma Sarah-"

"Don't call her that," green eyes flashed with, anger? Regret? Hurt?

"What else do I call my grandmother?!" Kassydie was losing patience.

"Just, call her Sarah." Jareth ordered.

"Fine, _Sarah_ told me the story a hundred times. And, I noticed, you kept changing the Labyrinth."

Jareth tilted his head in confusion. "So?"

"If I'm going in there everything must remain as is." Kassydie demanded.

"It's my Labyrinth. You're lucky I'm even giving you the chance to brave it for your screaming baby sister."

"It's an unfair advantage to you if you get to go around mucking everything up as I try to get through your damn maze."

"Labyrinth." He corrected.

Kassydie looked at the maze. "It's a maze. It's above ground, it's a maze. Labyrinth's are underground."

"We _are_ in Underground."

It was Kassydie's turn to cock an eyebrow but the Goblin King was not going to explain himself so she shrugged.

"It's not a hard deal to make. Just don't change whatever is currently there and I will brave your _labyrinth_."

"Fine, fine. If you do not solve my labyrinth within thriteen hours, your baby sister will become one of us forever." He faded away but his laughter remained a ghost in the air around Kassydie.

Kassydie looked at the labyrinth.

"Alonzee." Kassydie muttered to herself the French word for 'let's go' and walked toward the maze.


	3. 1st Hour

**All right, I know the last chapter was short! Please forgive me! I'll try to make the chapters much, much longer from now on. I was particularly happy to see that a reader from L's Protecter has ventured into the reviews of this story. 10 visits and it's only been up for seven hours! Please continue reading! Reviews make me happy!**

"I wonder if he changed the door…" Kassydie mused as she walked along the side of the labyrinth. "I could always climb over."

Kassydie put the book and the medicine in seemingly hidden but deep pockets of the hooded cloak that went over her dress. She heard splashing and spotted a boy in a sparkling little pond. She walked towards it until she was about five feet away.

"Excuse me?"

The sharp eared boy, well, this close it was obvious he was a man, turned and looked at her with large, silver fish eyes. His hair was as black as hers but it was much longer and pulled back with a leather tie.

"Yes?" He said in a voice that sounded gruff and impatient as he left the pond.

Kassydie averted her innocent eyes and turned her back as he dressed.

"Um, c-, uh, are you a nymph?"

"No, I'm a kelpie," His voice came from directly behind her.

Kassydie jumped away and turned to face him. "Oh, my God! You won't drown me will you?" She asked timidly as she backed away a couple of steps.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" He seemed to ennunciate each word, as if he wasn't used to speaking english.

"But that's what kelpies do isn't it? Drown their victims and stearl their energy as they struggle for the air just beyond their heads?" Kassydie asked in a slightly more chipper voice than she should have. Even if it was a kelpie, she was excited to see that the mystical world she'd always dreamed of existed.

"You describe it so distastefully. And, for a matter of fact, only the enemy of a kelpie meets such a horrible fate. You aren't my enemy, are you?"

"Lord no!" Kassydie laughed nervously and held her hands up in front of her as if to ward off the very notion of making an enemy out of a kelpie. "Well, I'm going to climb into the labyrinth now. I'm afraid I'm on a time limit. Ciao."

"Hey," called the Pierrot/wizard Howl dressed kelpie. "It's not like you can just climb over the wall."

Kassydie looked at all the ruts and jutting blocks that would aid in an easy climb up and over the wall. "Why not? It'll be easy."

"It won't work, the gatekeeper has to open it for you." The kelpie smirked.

"Is that still Hoggle?"

"How do you know about Hoggle?"

"My grandmother came here before. From what she told me Hoggle was the gatekeeper."

The kelpie chuckled, "Hoggle got thrown into the Bog of Eternal stench right after he came back from the Aboveground."

"That's horrible!" Kassydie gasped.

The kelpie shrugged, "He lives there now, with that dog-thing. At least he isn't alone."

"I can't believe that Goblin King would actually do that."

The kelpie shrugged, he didn't care.

"Although," Kassydie mused, "From what Grandma Sarah said, Hoggle disobeyed him on the threat of being thrown into the nasty bog. I suppose if he didn't follow through on his threats he wouldn't be taken seriously as a king. So, who is the gate keeper now?"

The kelpie raised an eyebrow, "I am."

"And, who are you?"

"Sange."

"Will you please let me into the labyrinth, Sange?"

Sange smirked and gestured behind her. The gates to the labyrinth opened and Kassydie entered them with Sange behind her.

"So, will you go right, or left?" he asked, tilting his pale face to indicate either side.

He was so close that Kassydie had to actually look up at answer him. "Whoa, how tall are you?!"

Sange merely blinked.

"I think you're maybe 6'5"…" She measured herself quickly against him, "Yeah, I'm 5'1" and you're well over a foot taller than me."

"What is this prattle?"

Kassydie smiled, "I'm going up." She angled her finger into the sky. Sange tilted his head to the side and his eyes slid up to the corners.

"Strange answer." He said and walked out of the labyrinth with the doors shutting behind him.

Kassydie smiled, "He's cute." She walked down the right side of the labyrinth for awhile before finding a path of choise niches to use to get on top of the wall. A physical struggle and chipped nail later she was walking along the top of the wall. She could see everything from up here. She looked out of the labyrinth but, Sange was no where to be seen. The worm in Grandma Sarah's story had said this particular corridor was full of openings and he was very right. Every five or six steps Kassydie had to take a leap of faith to the other end of the wall. She used dead ends to cross over closer to the castle. This was going to be too easy. Kassydie grinned like Nuero right before he ate a mystery or pestered Yuko.

"What are you doing?" asked an incredulous, yet familiar, voice.

Kassydie half turned to see that the Goblin King had paid her a visit. "I'm walking." She shuffled on top of the wall with her arms out stretched in order to face him. The wall was about a foot wide and she was scared to fall although Jareth looked particularly lackadaisical on top of the wall, as if he were a cat that had been doing this sort of thing his whole life.

Jareth shook his head slightly, "I don't think you're going about this right. The labyrinth is hardly challenging if you just insouciantly run over the entire thing."

"I'm supposed to solve the labyrinth right?"

Jareth nodded.

"This is my solution." Kassydie almost turned to go but instead walked towards him until she was within arm's reach. "I almost forgot." Kassydie fished the bottle of medicine out of her pocket and handed it to Jareth. "It is crucial that you give this to Jamie every two hours." Her eyes slid to one of the many thirteen houred clocks in the labyrinth, "I want you to give her one dose of this in about…an hour and twenty five minutes. Please?"

Jareth looked down at the bottle in her outstretched hand. He took it, his gloved fingers brushing lightly against her lace covered ones. "What is this?"

"Jamie is very ill. Please remember to give her the medicine."

"I promise."

Kassydie's worried expression brightened and she turned slowly around again. "Thanks."

"Hold on," Jareth demanded, "I'm not done with you yet. You aren't going about the solving of my labyrinth in the way that I planned. How is this supposed to challenge you?"

Kassydie's eyes narrowed and she looked at him over her shoulder, "You think this is some sort of game? How dare you!!" She spun around hapharzardly and rounded on him. "I'm here to rescue my kidnapped baby sister and you're playing games with me?" She stepped closer until she was looking up into his crooked eyes, "You fiend!" She accused, "I can't believe this!" She shoved him off the wall, knowing it probably wouldn't hurt him and partly hoping it would. She stormed back towards the castle, ghosting laughter following her.

*^*%*^*

"Half-way there!" Kassydie's spirits were finally lifting when a rather large shadow passed over her head. Kassydie looked up as dread began to pump through her veins.

The beast circling malevolently above her head had leathery wings so large the blotted out the sun. Sharp teeth filled its dripping maw and hateful red eyes glared at her from a horrificly squashed looking face. It was a dragon and a bat, it was every monster that had ever hiddin in the shadows and under beds, and it was ravenous.

Kassydie's plan was to be still and pretend to be part of the wall to escape notice. But, as it turned burning eyes on her and turned its razor talons her way she realized she'd have to change her plan. She screamed and started running, only to trip over her own klutzy feet and fall off of the wall and onto her back.

Kassydie struggled to catch her breath after it had been forced harshly out of her and she scrambled up to run as the ghoul screeched and beat it's wings after her. Kassydie ran, only just eluding it. She ran until her legs burned and until her lungs were raw. She ran until her muscles filled with sulfiric acid and until her heart pumped boiling oil into her veins.

The ghoul seemed only to be toying with her, knowing she would soon tire and he would be able to feast upon her steaming flesh without so much as a kick. The beast had a concious mind enough to be able to derive pleasure from her inevitable submission to pain and eventually death. The ghoul opened its mouth and let out a sound that mimicked heinous amusement.

Kassydie stumbled and almost fell, "No," She rasped, "Need a, way out!" She cried out as cold earth swallowed her and the beast was nowhere to be seen. She fell into the earth beneath the labyrinth and for the second time in five minutes the air was forced from her lungs as the hard ground slammed against her back and her head cracked back against the stone.

Kassydie groaned and fluttered her eyes open as she lifted her hand to her head.

"I told you you were going about it wrong." Jareth chuckled maliciously in the darkness.

"You said you wouldn't interfere," Kassydie accused.

"I didn't. Ghouls have always been welcome here. You were the one broadcasting yourself as dinner."

"I wish you had fallen."

"Tsk, tsk. It's so terribly rude to shove people, especially off of walls." She heard the clack of his boots as he stepped closer to her. "However, I hold no grudge against you for it. It's a shame you've fallen into my oubliette. Now you'll be forgotten, you'll never find your way back out."

Kassydie sat up slowly, colors sparked in the darkness before her and her head swam with dizziness. She pressed her hand gently to the back of her head and sucked the wetness off of her finger—blood.

"Ow." She complained and stood up. A strong arm caught her and righted her when she swayed too far to the left. Kassydie put her hand out and used the wall to steady herself. "Thanks. You're wrong. I'll make it out of here on my own."

She felt cool fingers touch her head, "Count to five."

"Wha-"

"Count to five," Jareth repeated a little impatiently.

"Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq." Kassydie counted in French with mild exasperation. "Je n'ai pas une commotion."

Jareth blinked in the darkness. "Well, it's obvious now you don't have a concussion, it wasn't before. I just wanted to check."

"Merci," Kassydie snapped and started walking, "Why do you even care?"

Jareth smiled invisibly, "You're interesting."

"You're boring." Kassydie felt along the wall and found no openings anywhere. It was hopeless, there were no openings in the wall. There was no way out. "There is a way out," Kassydie muttered to herself as a reassurance. She continued feeling along the wall and suddenly, her hand slipped through empty space and she cried out in joy.

"What?"

"I _told_ you I'd find my own way out. It's been a blast, er, Your Highness? However, I have a little sister to save from your evil clutches."

"Why bother?" Jareth asked, "You could have so much more than a baby with constant upkeep. You can have your dreams, you can have your past back." He tempted.

"Shut up, Jareth!" Kassydie growled, "Your spiel didn't work on grandma and it won't work on me!"

"We'll see." The sentence faded into the darkness.

*^*%*^*

Jareth paced slowly around the courtroom of his castle. The motley crew of goblins cajolled and pranced all around the room. The goblins in here were nobles, however, they acted like tavern drunks with all their ceasless merrymaking. The baby sat in a pit in the middle of the room. The pit had once held fire and cooking pots, now it held pillows and a crying baby girl. Why was he allowing Kassydie _thirteen_ hours to solve the labyrinth? The screaming was irksome and annoying!

"Will someone quiet her?" He commanded fiercly.

"No!" Jamie screamed, "Kashy!!"

Jareth waved away the goblins near her and knelt down to peer at the baby. "Oh, you're missing Kassydie? Am I not good enough for you then? Will you reject and deny me?"

Jamie glared, not fully understanding his words but knowing that he was somehow responsible for Kassydie's absense. She whacked him with all the strength of a one year old.

Jareth simply scowled and stood up. "What is it with women?"

"Trouble?"

Jareth looked at the new arrival into the courtroom.

"Why the concern? It's not like you."

"Only looking after my king. I noticed you've got yourself a new girl, and, er, baby."

Jareth nodded, waiting for the purpose of the visit.

"Yes, well, I was simply wondering, when are you going to put me into play?"

"Soon. You'll have your role in the labyrinth very soon. I'd like to see if she can defeat the next obstacle on her own, first." Jareth looked into his crystal where Kassydie was just leaving the cave.

"As you wish, King." Said the stranger, bowing out of the room.

Jareth looked down at Jamie who had quieted to an angry sulk and smiled fondly. "She reminds me of myself when my favorite toy has been snatched away."

**I'm terrible and wretched and insane!!!!!!! I can't believe the chapter is so short again!! Grah!! It's only the second day and I am indeed aware that I am posting haphazardly. But, how can I resist posting a story? I can't, that's how. *sigh* Only five pages!!! Dreadfully sorry!!! .**


	4. 2nd Hour

**I'm hoping to get many more reviews and fans with the coming chapters! I promise, promise to make longer chapters!!!**

Kassydie trudged through the hot and humid forestry. It looked like the Amazon Rain Forest. Trees towered high into God knew where and the ground was thick with rotting vegetation and whatever else Kassydie didn't want to think about. She hadn't even seen any trees! Where the hell was she?!

"How can there be an entire biosphere in one little labyrinth?" Kassydie shook her head, "And I haven't heard a single animal. Or is that good?"

The air was chokingly thick. Kassydie felt as if she'd pass out from the heat but she didn't want to remove her cloak because it was a pain to carry. She looked around her, she couldn't see past three trees in front of her. How much time did she have left? She couldn't even see the castle through the forestry. She wondered if the Goblin King would pay her another visit.

"What are you thinking?!" Kassydie chastised herself, "That guy's a pain. It could be a ruse, though. He is a king after all. He'd have to keep up a strong pretense. Ugh, what if he's like, super super sensitive for real?" Kassydie shuddered at the thought of a super sensitive man. She'd always been more interested in men like Kisshu, Eyes Rutherford, L, and Nuero. If Jareth's personality was more like Masaya Aoyoma's than Kisshu's Kassydie would definitely lose all interest.

"It doesn't seem like that's it though," Kassydie muttered, shoving her way past thick vines and leaves bigger than her. To her, it seemed like Jareth pretty much showed everything he was, out in the open. Thinking about what he clearly broadcasted about himself brought her mind to things she didn't think eighteen year old girls should be particularly concerned with, especially since he was obviously so much older than she. "Is it pedophilia if he's about a hundred years older? Gah, get a grip!" She bonked herself on the head. She was being such a stereotypical heroine. She needed to get herself out of the Ichigo Momomiya mindset and into a more Kaito Jeanne one. Yeah, she could conquer anything!! Especially her own stupid, raging hormones. She'd never paid attention to guys before, why start now?

Fully set in this stubborn mindset Kassydie trudged onward through the dense forest. It was rather pointless to wander aimlessly through the forest though.

"Hello?" Kassydie called, hoping someone would answer, "Anyone?! Helloo! Is there anything alive in this forest besides shrubbery?!"

Kassydie sighed and leaned against a tree so wide she couldn't fit her arms around it if she were three people, three tall people. A rustling sound caught her prying ears.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She hoped it wasn't anything nasty.

Something snaked sneakily around her bare ankle and tugged her down. Kassydie shrieked and maintained her balance. She kicked and stomped at the little sharp, thorny vine that had been clawing up her leg. She backed away, peering into the dense greenery and at the thick brown of the ground. More and more vines were coming out of the darkness.

"No!" Kassydie shrieked as she lifted her skirts and began to run away from the accumulating vines. "Dear God! It's like a Mario game!"

Except she didn't get extra lives, and her ankle was throbbing and felt tight in her skin. Were these vines poisonous? She chanced a quick peek back and kicked up a faster pace. The vines seemed like conscious beings. Were they being controlled by a dryad? Kassydie ran faster but already she was feeling tired. She hadn't fully recovered from her last round of vigorous cardio. She pushed herself forward, her vision blurred by tears of stress and exhaustion and she kept running.

She ran straight into a trap set by plants.

The small vines that had been chasing her were decoys, chasing her into the maw of much larger vines with thorns as long as steak knives and sharp as the devil. Kassydie skidded to keep from running into the wall that would surely impale her and fell backwards onto the smaller thorns. Her clothes protected her from most of them but she felt them scratch up her arms and over her legs and across her neck.

"No!" She screamed and tore at the thorns as they tore at her flesh. The scratches burned like wasp stings and the larger thorns were nearing. They moved slow, as if heavy with some burden. Kassydie focused on one of the large thorns as she tore up tiny rejuvenating vines. It was dripping and she could see red liquid sloshing inside the clear spine. Blood? Poison? Whichever one it couldn't be good. Kassydie shuffled deeper into the smaller vines in an attempt to get away from the big scary ones. She felt hot and dizzy and her skin felt tight wherever the thorns hit. She struggled for each breath. Sometimes, no matter how hard she tried to pull air into her lungs it refused to enter her body, to oxygenate her blood stream. She was losing consciousness.

*^*%*^*

Jareth looked at the orb with an unreadable expression. "Look, Jamie. Kassydie's not very smart is she? She should know, that things aren't always what they seem here."

Jamie took the orb Jareth was holding before her and looked at it.

"Kashy?" She called to it, expecting Kassydie to answer her and to stop looking like that. When she didn't get an answer she scowled and threw the crystal. It shattered to satisfactory against a pug faced goblin's helmet.

Jareth chuckled deeply and produced another orb right out of the air, "You're quite feisty. You'd make a good leader. I did." He tossed the orb in the air and looked at it again. "It seems as though Kassydie won't be joining us later on after all."

*^*%*^*

Kassydie's eyes fluttered as she fought against the poison entering her veins. She was aware of what was happening now. The thorns were poisonous. She hadn't expected them to be. Then again, her grandma had always said things are not always what they seem.

And that very saying had been the entire motif of the labyrinth for Grandma Sarah, hadn't it? So, if the little vines were the ones filled with poison, did the big vines have an antidote? It was worth a try wasn't it? Even if the big vines were poison too she was still poisoned from the little vines, poisoned as if she were allergic to peanuts and had just downed an entire jar of crunchy peanut butter.

Kassydie began to struggle weakly towards the scarier looking thorns. The thorns that she hoped would be her salvation.

"Get of me!" She rasped the demand to the thorns. She shuffled forward quicker on her arms and grabbed a big sharp thorn in her hand. The rather thin shell containing the juice inside the sharp thorn broke open even as it cut her. The liquid splashed against her skin and smelled rather like her favorite fruit tea.

When the juice splashed against her skin and made contact with the burning scratches she felt them cool. Then, the thorns began to rapidly recede. Kassydie had to struggle to hold onto them. Although the scratches on her face, neck, and arms had come into contact with the liquid antidote the scratches covering her legs were still infected and were getting worse. She could hardly move them anymore. The juice had made the vines slippery and she was losing her grip on the slick surface of salvation. She tightened her hold and used one hand to delicately break a thorn clean off the vine.

She let go and rolled, protecting the precious thorn even though it sliced into the palms of her hands. She lay, panting and gasping on her back as she rested a bit. Well, she had wanted to rest a bit, but her legs started to hurt more fiercely and the pain was spreading through her veins from the cuts. Carefully she bit off the razor tip of the thorn and slipped her skirts up to unveil her legs.

She yelped when she saw them. They looked alien! They were swollen to twice their normal size and pulsed hot and red, the veins beneath the skin showed up a flaming purple.

"Oh my God!!" She exclaimed as she carefully poured the antidote onto her tortured legs. She carefully rubbed the juice all over her torn stockings and let it soak into the cuts in her skin. The burning sensation cooled and right before her eyes the swelling in her legs reduced and the veins faded back to merge colorlessly with her pale, albeit torn, skin.

Kassydie breathed a sigh of relief and laid back. The antidote smelled nice. She wondered if it was okay to drink it. She lifted her head and looked at the thorn with a look of contemplative curiosity. She brought the thorn up and sniffed it cautiously. She poured it onto her hand and inspected the juice as it seeped through her fingers.

Kassydie stood up and let the thorn drop and shatter, the pleasant smelling liquid sloshed out of the broken thorn and the ground drank it in greedily.

"You're not supposed to eat or drink anything when fairies are involved." Kassydie said to herself. She knew better than to eat and become addicted to magical food and drink. If she did that, she'd starve to death surrounded by her own human food when she got back home. She'd have no desire to eat anything but the pleasant fairy food and that would kill her.

She walked on through the woods, more cautious this time.

*^*%*^*

Jareth watched as Kassydie figured out the riddle of the thorns.

"She's actually pretty clever."

"You're Highness!" Called a sharp looking goblin, sharp eyes, sharp nose, sharp teeth, "The Salamander has gotten away!"

Jareth glared at the incompetent little beast, "Take a squad and retrieve it! Do. Not. Let it near Kassydie, understand?"

Salamanders were dangerous fairies. They wielded fire as their weapon and toy and were extremely blasé with it. They often ended up burning down forests and villages out of their own carelessness.

"Make sure it doesn't burn anything down!" Jareth sprawled back into his throne and stared at his riding crop as he tapped it on the edge of his boot. He looked over and watched as the courtiers of the goblins cooed and fawned over Jamie. She was loving the attention. It was obvious she'd be a beautiful woman some day. Her soft brown curls had already formed ringlets that would become enticing and it was obvious her dark green eyes would become large and alluring. Like Kassydie's eyes, like Sarah's eyes. Only, the blue of Kassydie's eyes was far more charming. They were an attractive dark blue that made her eyes seem somehow deeper and framed by the long eyelashes inherited from Sarah. The wideness of her eyes, the emotions so fierce it could change the color, the color was Kassydie's mother's, but her eyes definitely came from the beautiful Sarah.

Jareth felt a tug on his fluffy white sleeve. He looked down to see Jamie's big green eyes peering at him from beneath messy brown curls. He leaned over and put her upon his lap.

"Bring me a brush." He ordered a short, fat, little goblin standing near him. "Right now."

*^*%*^*

"This is impossible!" Kassydie cried out to the trees. She was lost in the forest and she was losing time. Kassydie growled her frustration and whacked a tree trunk. Almost immediately she grasped her hand to her chest and cradled it.

"Oh, ow! Ow, ow, ow." She shook her hand as if that could shake the pain out. It was red, and looked like it was definitely going to bruise. "Oh, Grandma!! This labyrinth is nothing like the one he made for you!"

Kassydie had come to the conclusion that Jareth had given Sarah the book she carried in her pocket. She had also concluded long ago that the Goblin King in the story was in love with Grandma Sarah. She was now sure of that now that she'd seen Jareth's reactions to anything to do with her Grandmother. Like, the insistence that she be called just Sarah in his presence. Kassydie busied herself in her thoughts as she wandered through the forest in vain.

She had come to the conclusion that Sarah had never been in any danger in the labyrinth. It seemed that Jareth created both the obstacles and means of escape for her. She couldn't think of the reason for it though. Maybe to entrance Grandma Sarah into his world, the world created for her. He must've really loved her. Although, if he truly loved her wouldn't he have kept after her? Oh! But he was banished into his owl form!! So did that mean that in her world he couldn't appear to her? That he could only watch? Kassydie felt suddenly very sorry for the Goblin King. How awful would it be to be able to do naught but watch the truest love of your life? Why did Grandma Sarah reject him?

A small tear escaped the corner of her eye and she wiped it away quickly with torn lace gloves.

"Oh, my gloves! They're ruined!" Kassydie groaned. She had made the lace herself so it would match the pattern on one of Saki Hanajima's dresses. Now they were destroyed! "Dammit!!" She tore them angrily from her hands and shoved them into her pocket. She moved to inspect the rest of her clothes. There were holes and tears all over the costume she'd made absolutely perfectly! And all kinds of scuffs on the boots that had cost her two hundred dollars but she'd had to get them because they were the most perfect and exact match of the shoes Saki wore with this outfit.

"Dammit!" She cursed again.

"Me thinks you've gots more prollems to warry about than yer clothes, madam miss."

Kassydie turned to where the voice was coming from and shook her head, "I'm an American teenager. My clothes are my only problems. Where are you?"

"Look up!" The little voice demanded.

Kassydie complied and got water poured all over her face.

"Ugh! You little retch!!" Kassyde turned away from the dryad boy and stormed off.

"Wait, madam miss!" The dryad boy jumped down from the tree in a flurry of long green hair and faintly green skin. "I's sorreh! I just thought it'd be funny!! I's sorreh! Pleez come back!"

Kassydie turned and glared at him from under her wet bangs. "What is it?" She demanded crossly.

"You wants outta here, yeah? I cin halp!"

Kassydie crossed her arms and waited impatiently, "Oh, really?"

"Yah, yah! I know this forest like the back a my hands!" He held up his hands and shook them as if to prove it. "Really."

"What's the catch?" Kassydie flipped her wet hair out of her face.

The boy grinned at her, "You gotsa give me somethin in return for halpin! Somethin special to you what you did yerself!"

Kassydie cocked an eyebrow but shrugged. She checked her pockets and found only the book and her ruined gloves.

"Well, I made these myself but they got ruined because I kept falling."

The boy took the gloves and slipped them on. The shredded black lace gloves did absolutely not go with his pale lavender tunic. He looked up at her beaming with his gold and grey eyes. "It's gud, it's gud!"

Kassydie cocked her head to the side, "Well, I'm Kassydie, what's your name?"

"Esten." He said. "Come, come, I cin show you out of the forest now."

"Wait, I want you to lead me out of the forest so that I come out of it closer to the castle in the center of the labyrinth." Kassydie knew you had to be specific with Fey folk.

Esten looked at her, shrugged, and changed direction.

"Why are you helping me, Esten?"

Esten just looked at her and blushed. "Y'know, the Goblin King ain't so bad as he seems, rite?"

Kassydie shrugged. She didn't know him very well so she tried not to judge. However, he was infuriating when she was around him.

"He's been rale sad as a late. Maybe, if you get to him you can tell him tah be happy."

"Why can't you just do that?"

"I ain't s'posed to talk to 'im." Esten admitted, "I'm a dryad what was left here when he brought all the goblins here tah protect em better. I'm solitary now so I ain't allowed to talk to fairies what gots kings and is kings."

"Well, that's a stupid rule."

Esten nodded.

"Then why do you care so much for the Goblin King?"

"He lets me stay on his land even though I'm solitary. Solitary's they gots lands but it's bad, bad, madam miss. An' so, he lets me stay. But, he's all sad an stuff."

"How old are you?"

Esten grinned sheepishly, "Me? I's only fifty."

"Fifty?!" Kassydie choked.

Esten grinned again and nodded.

"But that's….." She stopped, dryads must mature slower than humans. After all, it took a long time for trees to grow big and strong and magnificent. She supposed it was the same for their spirits.

Kassydie shrugged, "What makes you think I can cheer him up?"

"Waaallll, yer pretty, an' yer cool, an' yer scary."

"Scary?!"

Esten smiled, "Yeah."

"Psh." Kassydie managed. "You're silly, Esten. I'm just here to get my sister back. I really don't think I can cheer him up while I fight him for my sister."

Esten tilted his head at her, "Wot ya gonna do afterwards?"

Kassydie shrugged, "Go home I suppose. Get ready to leave home."

"So yer gunna save her jus' so you cin leave her?" Esten looked confused.

"Well, if you put it like that…" Kassydie said, "But I've got to go to college."

Esten still looked confused. They probably didn't have schools for him to attend.

"It's complicated." Kassydie mumbled

*^*%*^*

"There, all clean!" Jareth smiled at Jamie as he bounced her on his knee. He'd brushed her hair and wiped all the grime from the goblins off of her.

Jamie giggled, enjoying this new play mate who paid so much attention to her.

Jareth pulled an orb out of the air and peered into it curiously.

"Oh? Kassydie's with the little dryad." He frowned. She was getting through the Wandering Forest far too quickly.

The labyrinth he was sending Kassydie through was the one actually meant for invading enemies. She wasn't supposed to be moving so quickly. Most of his enemies spent an average of five hours in the Wandering Forest. The trees moved and the vines killed them, yet she was getting past both fine.

"Your sister is going to be trouble."

*^*%*^*

The trees finally broke and Kassydie burst into the walls of hedges. "Esten, we're out!!" Kassydie looked back but he hadn't left the tree line with her. "Esten, come on out. What's up?"

"I really shouldn't, it's not good for me to leave the forest…"

"Are you sure? I could use the company. I'm terribly lonesome here."

Esten shook his head, "It's real bad for me to leave…"

Kassydie sighed, "Okay then. Have fun. Oh, wait!"

Kassydie ran over to him and gave him a tight squeeze. "Thanks for the help, Esten. It was lots of fun meeting you!"

Esten blushed and pushed her off just like an embarrassed kid. "Yah, yah! Enuff wif that! Hurry up and cheer up the King."

Kassydie just smiled and turned around to begin her next obstacle.

A nearby clock ticked into the third hour.

**Well, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I wasn't quite satisfied with it. They get much better! I promise!! Sorry it took so long to get it up!!!**


	5. 3rd Hour

**To everyone still reading thank you for not stopping!! It just gets better from here!!!!**

"This medicine smells horrid!" Jareth frowned at the seemingly inoffensive bottle, but from the way he looked at it one might assume otherwise. "Well, Kassydie seemed pretty adamant that you take this…"

Jareth took the medicine dropper and lifted it out of the bottle. Jamie immediately opened her mouth and squelched her eyes shut. Jareth shot the medication quickly into her throat and chuckled at the expression of distaste Jamie now wore.

"Kashy?" She asked.

And Jareth, having been properly trained by the toddler swept his hand through the air and presented Jamie with an orb. "There she is. Still very, very far away."

He laughed and for once he didn't have to remind his raucous crowd of goblins to laugh with him.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie traveled slowly through the stone maze, yes, maze. The stones made it seem like an oven and Kassydie would have taken off her cloak had she felt like actually carrying it. She hummed anime theme songs to herself to alleviate her boredom.

She turned left, right, left, left, dead end. Back, right, left, right, right, left, right, dead end. Back, left, left, right, left, dead end. The monotony didn't seem to end. She decided to start marking her path when she'd gotten confused and almost certain she'd been twisted around and had passed that little niche thrice. She picked up rocks and placed them on corners. It worked until she ran out of rocks.

Having nothing to lose Kassydie let her fingers brush against the wall and she closed her eyes. She turned when there was a gap and hit her nose on a wall when there was a corner. It wasn't long before the wall on both sides of her stopped. She opened one eye and peered around. She opened both eyes in surprise upon realizing she'd made it out of the cream colored stones.

"Wow!! That was easy!!" She looked at a nearby clock, she'd only wasted half an hour in the maze, yes, maze.

Now Kassydie was in a maze of hedges. Kassydie walked towards the castle and tried to see if she could get through the hedge, unfortunately, beneath the leaves there was grey stone, it was as if Jareth had anticipated this attempt.

"At least it's cooler here." Kassydie kept walking, taking turns on a whim since that seemed to work so well last time. It wasn't long before she heard goblins in the hedges and smelled burning plants.

"No! You Idiots!" rasped a goblin that seemed to be the leader of the small army, "Get behind it! Circle it!"

After that Kassydie couldn't catch many individual words between shrieks and bursts of flame. It appeared to her that the goblins were attacking something in the midst of them all.

Without thinking Kassydie revealed herself, "Hey!!" She shouted at the goblins, she wasn't scared of them. At least, she wasn't yet.

The goblins turned to her and all she saw was wrinkled skin and sharp teeth. They snarled and spoke in a tongue of shrieks and slippery sounds. Kassydie took a tiny step back. The creature they had been torturing was now in full sight. It looked odd, not like the other creatures she'd seen so far, like the kelpie and the dryad. Once, excited, twice cautious, thrice lost.

The goblins rounded on her with their sticks which seemed to impale creatures that looked like demonic fetuses. These creatures had sharper teeth still.

"Oh, this can't be good." Kassydie doubled back. The goblins chased her, confident in their group. As soon as she realized they didn't like traveling on their own she devised the most clever of her plans yet. All she really needed to do was avoid the entire group, the labyrinth would be safe after that, well at least this part of it, and at least from the goblins.

As soon as she turned a corner Kassydie buried herself in the hedge until her back was to the cold stone. She peered through the leaves as the goblins ran past, taking the first turn they could. As soon as they were gone she retraced her steps back to the poor creature.

The little orange ball of fluff looked alien. It had six legs and a long, lizard like tail. Except for the fur and legs it would have made a nice baby komodo dragon. The eyes that looked at her blankly were opalized oranges and reds. The poor thing was bleeding all over from bites and cuts.

"I will not let thrice be lost." She whispered to herself. However, she had absolutely no idea about first aid. "Oh, if only I had something to help your cuts."

As she looked around a small puddle of moss surrounded water caught her eye. She hadn't even noticed it before with all the commotion. Gingerly, Kassydie picked up the ailing creature, which she figured was a rogue little salamander. She walked carefully over to the pond and sunk the thing in. It was hot and her hands hurt from touching it but she forced herself to set the creature down slowly. It steamed as it hit the cool water that soothed her slightly scorched hands. She washed the blood from the creature and assessed the damage.

"_Sharrick!_" The creature said.

The noise scared Kassydie and she jumped back with a yelp. "Is that how you talk?" Kassydie asked a little breathless. She rubbed at a bruise on her leg that she'd hit when she jumped back. It felt as if she was covered in scratches and bruises by now. She probably was.

The creature flicked a long tongue out at the moss and ate it.

Kassydie smiled, "You look better. I guess it wasn't as bad as it seemed."

"_Sharrick_." The Salamander said gratefully with a tiny burst of flame.

Kassydie laughed. "Wow, I haven't laughed in forever. This labyrinth has been a real downer for one thing. Say, wanna help me through it? I have to save my little sister but things keep almost killing me. I sure could use a feisty little fire breather to help me through the labyrinth."

"_Sharrick._" She said happily.

"I'll call you, Sharrick then." Kassydie stood up. "We can be like Pikachu and Ash! Dynamic Duo!" Kassydie looked around. She was facing a wall with two doors. "Hey, this must be exactly where Grandma Sarah rescued Ludo!!! Look! The knocker who cannot hear and the knocker who cannot speak! This is exactly how she described it! At least something from her story stayed the same."

"What'd you say?" Shrieked a shrill voice.

Kassydie had been expecting it but it made her jump anyway. "Ahm," She spoke louder, "Nothing, really!"

The other knocker tried to speak past the ring in his mouth, eliciting another 'what' from the knocker with the ring through his ears. Kassydie took the knocker from his mouth.

"Hello, there." Kassydie greeted.

"It has been a long time since a young woman removed that from my mouth." The knocker relaxed, "Thank you."

"I know this door probably still leads to fiery forest. Actually, is there anything you can tell me about the labyrinth?"

"What'd she say?" shouted the knocker with the ring in his ears.

Kassydie ignored him, as did the knocker she was talking to.

"What do you want to know?"

"Just start talking about whatever it is about the labyrinth that comes to your mind, if you please." Kassydie smiled reassuringly and ignored another shrill 'what?'

"This is different from the last time I saw a young woman. Actually, the entire labyrinth changed after that young woman left. The goblins have been convinced that she was a Sidhe more powerful than the king and that she hated all the goblins. I remember though, she was just a young woman trying to get through the labyrinth, much like yourself."

"What happened when she left?"

"The labyrinth twisted. It was like the lack of her presence, after it had already been there, had turned the entire labyrinth into a bitter death trap. That's why I think the King really loved that woman. The labyrinth is an extension of the king's emotions and desires. The truest, extension of his self. After she left, the labyrinth became such a hateful place, for years and years. Only recently, it's become a little better."

"It doesn't seem better to me." Kassydie frowned, recalling how many times she'd had to fend for her life and she'd only been in the labyrinth about two and a half hours.

"It's still a confused place. But it's like the King had found something else. Something that ebbed the bitterness."

"He has my baby sister. She probably brought out his fatherly side. She needs a lot of attention and care."

"It was long before your trial here started, my dear. King Jareth has most definitely found something new."

Kassydie sighed, understanding, "Rebound." She muttered with a shake of her head. "He's toying with me as rebound. Ugh."

"Excuse me?" asked the knocker.

"Nothing, really. So, do you think you'd know anything that would help me in the labyrinth?"

"You may have undiscovered powers. I will say nothing more."

"What?! Really? Oh come on!! You have to tell me something more!! Don't be so cryptic!" Kassydie begged but the knocker's lips were sealed. She sighed and leaned the knocker against the bottom of the door, not having the heart to put it back in. It was obvious that it caused him pain to hold it in his mouth.

She walked with Sharrick over to the deaf knocker. After she knocked the door swung open, with complaints about her rudeness from the knocker.

"Come on, Sharrick." She called and Sharrick followed with her signature thoughts on the matter.

*^*%*^*

Jareth rolled crystals from hand to hand. He was putting on a show for Jamie. The goblins had ceased to amuse her at the moment and so she found her fascination resting on him.

"When Kassydie fails, maybe I won't turn you into a goblin." He twirled the crystal along the tips of his finger tips. "I can teach you how to do things like this."

Jamie smiled and clapped as if she understood. Although, it could have been because Jareth was making the orbs chase each other across his hands and fingers.

"You're Highness!" A goblin guard entered the room and interrupted Jamie's show.

"What?" Jareth said impatiently to the bulbous nosed goblin.

"The Salamander escaped us! It was the girl's fault!"

Jareth's expression was a mixture of disbelief and rage. "Can you lot do nothing right? That Salamander is a trespasser on my land and a vagabond arsonist! I will not have any more of my labyrinth and villages burned up because of it!! And. Get. It. Away. From the girl!!! Now!!!" He yelled, standing from his throne and pointing to the door, "Or you and your squadron will be the next victims of the Black Mirror!!"

The goblin scurried away, his fear palpable in the courtroom. Jamie had begun to cry as a result of his yelling.

"Ah, shush, shush." Jareth picked up Jamie and walked out of the chaotic courtroom. "Let's go to a nicer place."

The area beyond the courtroom was pristine to the point of OCD and decorated with lovely baubles, tapestries, and hand-paintings of Jareth's likeness. All these things were relics from his trips to Aboveground. The Sidhe enjoyed spending time amongst humans as much as he did his fun loving court. Though they could be a trifle annoying at times.

Jareth took Jamie through the large halls of his castle and onto a large terrace, flowing with water and flowers and butterflies.

"You'll have fun here." Jareth set Jamie down in the middle of a plot of white flowers with black spots. Butterflies hovered over the sweet scented flowers and tickled Jamie's nose and cheeks as she laughed at the attention she was getting from the bright blue bugs.

Jareth sat down on a chair not far away and watched, lost in his own thoughts. While Kassydie was still quite far away she was making frightening progress. She should have spent at least two or three hours in the hot sand stone area of the maze yet she bested it in only an hour. So far, she had beaten all of his obstacles in an hour. Of course, the labyrinth was full of far more than thirteen obstacles. Even with the progress she was making she would never make it.

Of course, she was of Sarah's blood. This thought agitated him.

Sarah had banished him with her words and the power he'd given her after she'd defeated the labyrinth. With her death, her power over him was broken and yet he still felt be spelled. Sure, he could roam the Aboveground in any form he chose once more, but it still felt as if he were being jerked around by some cruel power. Perhaps, the power he'd given Sarah with his love for her had been passed through her blood into Kassydie. But that was impossible. His power didn't leave him without his knowledge. He had felt the rush of energy and power flow back into him the moment Sarah had died. He had not enjoyed it.

Sarah had left a wound in him. One which still hurt.

Jareth opened his eyes and stared into a pair of small green ones. Considering how like these eyes were to the green eyes he'd just been thinking about Jareth received quite a shock before he was pulled back into the present.

"Now what do you want, hmm?" He asked, picking her up and placing her on his lap.

Jamie sighed and curled against him. She had learned that sighing was a signal of distress.

"Ah, what's wrong then?" Jareth pried, bouncing her on his knee a bit.

"Welll," She hesitated, "Want Kashry." She admitted finally, and looked as if she was worried Jareth would be upset that she wanted Kassydie instead of him.

"Oh, you don't like playing with me all of the sudden?"

Jamie blinked and then started sobbing. "Want Kashry! Miss her! Kasshrrryyy!!"

Jareth's eyes widened as he discovered one of the worst parts about spending time with a baby. They were prone to tears and emotional attachment to their prior owners.

Jamie continued to cry and scream for Kassydie, hoping that somehow that would make Kassydie come.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie looked up from the hems of her skirts, which she was holding above the marshy waters.

She could have sworn she'd heard Jamie crying.

Sharrick looked at her from her shoulder, "Sharrick?"

"I thought I heard Jamie." Kassydie said and continued to sink her feet into the muddy water. "If I did she must be giving the King quite the difficult time. Good work, Jamie!"

Kassydie shifted her shoes to her other hand and bunched her skirts up higher.

When she'd opened the door she and Sharrick had gone through a short hallway of stone, and had ended up in a marsh. The marsh was muddy and the mud sunk your feet and made it hard to walk. Sharrick had whimpered. It was obvious that prolonged activities in water would be bad for a fire based Salamander. So Kassydie had let Sharrick climb up on her shoulder so she could carry her through the marsh.

"I really hope there aren't any venomous snakes here. Or crocodiles. There aren't, right?" Kassydie asked Sharrick as she pushed her bare foot into yet another sinking pile of mud, stumbling and almost losing Sharrick.

"Sharrrrick!!!" Sharrick protested.

"Sorry, sorry!" Kassydie apologized. "I think we're almost through though. We've got to be by now. I wonder if he remembered her medicine."

Kassydie realized she was rambling by now and stopped right as she stepped on a particularly slimy area of mud and something squirmed under her foot.

Kassydie shrieked and stumbled backwards. "Oh gross! There is something in here!"

Kassydie looked around at the forest of mud colored trees with their roots arching in and out of the water like sea monsters. Leaves hung low in her face and she batted them aside. She pressed her lips into a thin line and with determination set upon her features continued on through the slimy marsh.

"Sharrick, you're heavy. Hold on, I have to rest." Kassydie panted and pulled Sharrick from her shoulder and relocate her to a nearby root. Kassydie re-gathered her skirts and leaned back against it, rolling her head from side to side to relieve the tension in her shoulders.

Kassydie's feet kept sinking into the mud and she had to continuously adjust her stance in order to keep from sinking. At one point another slimy thing swam over her foot and away. Kassydie shrieked again but, if they weren't biting or attack how much harm could they be, really? They were just swimming. Hardly a cause for panic.

"Ah, okay, Sharrick, let's hurry on." Kassydie turned around to grab Sharrick but found that she was not on the root. "Sharrick?"

Kassydie looked around, searching for the golden orange salamander and spotting it a couple of roots ahead.

"Sharrick! If you can get across the marsh like that, I don't want to carry you." Kassydie began her treck towards Sharrick but every time she reached the root where she was certain Sharrick was, she wasn't. She was yet still a couple of roots away and hadn't seemed to move.

"Sharrick, come back."

"Sharrrick." Replied Sharrick.

Kassydie frowned, "How are you doing that?" She mumbled unintelligibly and continued forward, once again, not reaching Sharrick.

And now, the marsh seemed endless. Only moments ago she had felt sure they were nearing the end, ever since she'd put Sharrick on that root she hadn't been able to try to get out. She was just trying to get to Sharrick.

The mud seemed to get deeper and even with her hems bunched well above her waist and exposing her panties the hems were getting wet. Kassydie was waist deep in the water and it was a difficult task to find a hold on which to stand in the slick mud. It seemed to be getting worse. Kassydie looked ahead at Sharrick.

"Sharrick, help!" She cried out, for it was definite that she was now sinking. Sharrick turned and ran up the tree it was standing on and disappeared into the leaves. Was that Sharrick at all? Or had Sharrick really abandoned her? No, she couldn't think like that. It was obvious Sharrick would have to retrieve help, how could she save Kassydie on her own?

For the moment, Kassydie was left to try to survive this new ordeal on her own. Slimy swimmers swarmed around her legs now.

"What's going on?" Kassydie asked aloud to no one in particular. It didn't seem like the fish were swimming away from her now. Now it seemed as if they were gathering around her. Kassydie slipped and struggled through the mud again, in one last futile attempt, before she finally slipped into the water.

No longer having to worry about keeping her skirts dry Kassydie used her hands to struggle and grasp at anything she could hold on to. Her feet scrambled for purchase in the soft mud and she couldn't stand up. When she opened her eyes beneath the water the light above was too dim for her to see anything but shadows. Her mouth broke the surface and she gasped in a large breath of air before she inevitably sunk again. Sink or swim. It looked as if she'd have to stop panicking and start thinking.

Kassydie began to move her arms in a pathetic mockery of swimming. She struggled against the skirts and realized they were keeping her from being able to swim.

Her lungs burned with the need for air as she struggled out of the clothes. Kassydie swam for the surface in her skivvies and sucked in sweet oxygen.

Her cloak and dress and shoes were gone leaving her in nothing but torn stockings, her panties and her bra, but at least she was alive.

"Oh Grandma………….." Kassydie's eyes widened. She'd forgotten about Grandma's book!! "No!" She took three deep breaths to expand her lungs and took a forth larger breath and dove back into the water.

Kassydie groped along the bottom, struggling to find her cloak. Surely it couldn't be too far? Kassydie opened her eyes in the near darkness and saw only shadows layered over shadows. Her oxygen was running out. Something wrapped itself around her foot and Kassydie struggled to swim away from its grasp. She turned and saw a large shape in the deep water. Attached to this writhing figure was something that gently flowed with the current. It looked to be the size of her cloak. Kassydie struggled again but the beast pulled her in. Kassydie opened her mouth and a few precious bubbles of oxygen escaped.

She stopped wasting her energy resisting the pull. She had to check if the shape was her cloak. Her lungs were burning and a muffled roar flowed through the water. Kassydie hadn't thought water creatures could even make noise. However, at the moment that didn't matter. Kassydie was drowning and this thing was probably going to gut her like a fish. She must be losing oxygen because that thought had rather amused her.

As she was drawn closer she could make out sharp teeth. And that spot. It was her cloak!! Kassydie struggled against her instinctual urge to suck in the water around her in place of air. It was almost too much to resist. Kassydie struggled for the cloak that was just beyond her reach. She kicked and squirmed, her fingers only just brushing the fabric of it. More slimy tentacles reached for her to quiet the prey.

Kassydie twisted down to her ankle and took in a mouthful of the slimy appendage. She bit down as hard as she could, taking a chunk out of it as it squirmed away. She swam up to her cloak and grabbed it as the slimy tentacle writhed in rage and pain. The fabric was heavy with water and Kassydie struggled to swim away with it and keep her feet out of reach from the water monster below. Using the last of her fading energy she bunched the cloak up to her chest so it wasn't dragging behind her and swam up as fast as she could.

At least, she hoped she was swimming up. Everything looked the same, everything felt the same. The only thing different was that the burning in her lungs and the need to suck in the sweet finality of the water around her was becoming unbearable.

She couldn't even swim any more. She couldn't do it. She was going to die. But she'd finally be with her family again, with mom and dad and Grandma. She could practically see them now, in the water before her, smiling and waiting for her. Her tears mixed with the water around her as she finally let the useless air escape her lungs.

Strong arms grabbed her and jerked her roughly from the serene water. She gasped and choked on the mixture of water and air that she had sucked into her lungs.

There was a steady pounding and a constant sound of flowing air. Kassydie coughed and jerked forward, water gushing from her lungs. She took in long rasping breaths of air and saw Sharrick there. She let her eyes wander around.

"Sange?" Was that raspy voice really hers? How unattractive.

"You can't even make it past the marsh without sending a Salamander to search for your rescue?" The Kelpie scoffed.

Kassydie coughed again and shivered. She looked down at her arms and realized they were completely bare.

"Turn around!" She squealed as soon as she realized the state of her dress.

Sange cocked an eyebrow and seemed to finally realized why she was acting crazy. He chuckled, and still didn't turn around.

Kassydie beat at him with her hand, "Turn around you pervert!"

Now in the complete throws of laughter Sange finally turned around.

Kassydie fumbled with her sopping cloak until she'd finally found the pocket. She retrieved the soaked book from it.

"Oh no!" Kassydie cried, "It's ruined!" Her grandmother's favorite book, the only memorial she had left of her, and it was destroyed! Sharrick nuzzled her hand with her warm nose.

"Oh, Sharrick, I've ruined the book!" Kassydie sniffled.

Sharrick sniffed the book and knocked it out of her hand.

"Sharrick, stop!" Kassydie frowned.

"Wait a moment," Sange ordered her. Kassydie glared in his direction to make sure he was still turned. He was, so she stopped reaching for her book and watched Sharrick.

Sharrick was nuzzling and huffing at the little tome. She looked like a cat with cat nip. Finally Sharrick looked up at her with a furred reptilian mockery of a smile of satisfaction.

Kassydie reached out and touched the book, it was perfectly dry! And not as if it had ever been in water! She picked it up and flipped the worn pages, it was as if it had never even seen water before!

"Sharrick! How'd you do that?!" Sharrick just looked pleased with herself. "How'd she do that, Sange?!"

"Easy," Sange grunted, "She's a salamander. She just replaced the power of the water with her powers of fire, which overpower the water when on land."

Kassydie hugged Sharrick, "Thank you so much! Um, could you maybe do that to my cloak? It's all I've got to wear now."

Sharrick trotted to the wet bundle of black cloth and went through the same procedure as with the book. Quickly enough Kassydie was throwing on the warm cloak and securing it so she could make sure it wouldn't open up. Now that she didn't have a dress on underneath she had to make sure that not just the top of the cloak remained closed.

"Thanks for saving me, Sange." Kassydie said as soon as she'd finished putting the now dry book into her recently dried pockets.

"I couldn't let you die so soon, now could I?"

"You're welcome, Kassydie. It would have been a shame to lose such a charming girl." Kassydie translated with a weak smile right before she sneezed. "I'm going to have a terrible cold."

Kassydie leaned against the tree, there was only so much her body could take and she had over-run her limit.

"I would kill for strawberry crepes and milk." She mumbled.

"You haven't eaten?" Sange asked.

"Not since I heated up the funeral food at home." Kassydie admitted. And she was sick of casseroles. Why is it that no one ever brings sweets to a mourning family? Casserole, casserole, potato salad, casserole. Ugh!

"I know where to get some great food."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not eating anything in the Underground! I don't trust it! It'll trap me here forever or make me forget everything or something!" Kassydie explained.

"Where did she learn that rubbish?" Sange asked Sharrick.

"Sharrick," Sharrick replied.

"That's insane nonsense." Sange said, grabbing Kassydie's wrist and pulling the weakened girl from the tree.

"Abuse," Kassydie whined.

"Sharrick," Sharrick nudged her leg and Kassydie reluctantly fell into step with Sange.

"Where are we going?"

"To my mother." Sange replied easily.

"You have a mom!?"

"No, I'm a demonic spawn of the devil created from anti-matter and metaphysical rapists, what is wrong with you?"

"I've almost died three times, leave me be." Kassydie mumbled, feeling like an idiot.

"Hardly an excuse."

*^*%*^*

Jamie had finally cried herself into sleep and a Jareth, looking rather worse for wear, retreated to his own room. He'd left Jamie under the care of the most matronly goblin woman he could find. Who knew babies could be so hard to calm down? Toby had been easy to deal with. One merely had to sing and dance for him and he'd be fine.

Women.

**4,676 words! That's 11 whole pages everyone! I'm pretty satisfied with this. I can't wait until I get to the part where I get to make it **_**really**_** scary!! I got a comment on inserting the original characters into the labyrinth but I probably won't. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus really don't fit in with this particular labyrinth. *hands out cupcakes to all the readers* Please review and feed my ego!!!**


	6. 4th Hour

**People are reviewing!! It's so much fun to read the reviews! People like Jamie a lot more than I originally thought they would! Thank you for the reviews!! Send ten thousand more!!!! This chapter is dedicated to Nikxter because she complained that I didn't cite her in the last one. Lols. The phrase, Once excited, Twice cautious, Thrice lost is an old saying that she told me about. Thanks Nikx!**

Jareth had unnamed feelings about the scene depicted in his crystal orb. He didn't understand them.

The scene of Kassydie clinging to the back of the kelpie evoked feelings he'd only felt once before. It was the same feeling he'd had when Sarah had hugged Hoggle, the same feeling that was evoked every time she looked kindly at the stone calling beast, and the same feeling he'd known whenever Sarah had talked fondly with Sir Didymus. It was a feeling that he was missing out on something, that he should be getting what the others were instead of them.

Was he really jealous of the kelpie's current situation? Why? Why would he be jealous of anything to do with Kassydie?

He didn't understand, or he didn't want too. This made him frustrated and irritable. The only ease to his emotions was that Kassydie didn't seem to be enjoying the situation any more than he himself was. This irritated him further. He shouldn't be bothered with it.

"Bring me the baby." He ordered one of the raucous goblins. He'd gone back to his throne after depositing Jamie in a room unused that she could have for herself. For some reason, as long as she wasn't crying, Jareth enjoyed Jamie's company. Perhaps he didn't have to turn her into a goblin when Kassydie failed? She'd forget about Kassydie soon enough and he would be her whole world. It would be fun to be the center of attention of something more intelligent than a goblin. He could raise her to be a wonderful queen if he desired.

Jamie was deposited onto his lap a little roughly by the goblin. Jamie glared and swiped at the goblin, eliciting a chuckle from Jareth.

"What do you think, Jamie? Do you want to be Queen of the Goblins?" Jareth laughed. "You're already doing so well."

Jamie turned her attention to Jareth and grinned with her nearly full mouth of teeth. "Jarth!"

It was the first time the little girl had ever said her version of his name. For some reason it made Jareth feel warm and he smiled brighter.

"No, not Jarth. Jareth." He corrected.

"Jarth." Jamie insisted.

"Jar…" Jareth prompted.

"Jar…" Jamie complied.

"..eth." He finished.

"..eth." Jamie said.

"Jareth." Jareth smiled.

"Jarth." Jamie insisted again.

Jareth rolled his eyes heavenward and gave up. "You're Highness." He tried.

"Yah?" Jamie answered.

Jareth began laughing and his goblins followed suit, not knowing why, but glad to see their king happy after so many years of his melancholy gloom.

*^*%*^*

"I'm sorry," Kassydie apologized for the seventy-third time.

"Shut." Sange growled, "Up."

Kassydie moaned, "I can't help it. If I hadn't lost my shoes you wouldn't have to carry me all the way to your mother's."

Shortly after beginning the journey Kassydie, Sange, and Sharrick had found themselves in a much colder part of the labyrinth, complete with a trash covered ground.

Kassydie had stopped paying attention to where she was stepping to complain that it was unfair that the weather be cold only after she'd lost all of her clothes, and be swelteringly hot only when she was wrapped in layers of clothing. She promptly stepped right onto a rather large piece of glass. Bringing us to the current arrangement.

"Stop it, it's not like you're very heavy. And it's not like you could have avoided the cut, your feet are soft as a babe's and you're clumsy as one too."

"Ahm, thank you," Kassydie decided.

"Sharrick," Sharrick added from her back. Kassydie smiled at the salamander who was busy keeping her back warm if nothing else could be.

It actually wasn't long before they came to a house in a clearing amidst the wasteland of junk. Sange swept inside and placed Kassydie gingerly on the ground.

Kassydie held her injured right foot slightly above the ground and patted Sharrick's head.

"Mother?" Sange called from the doorway at the end of the living room. "Come here."

"You talk to your mom like that?" Kassydie gaped. Sange gave her a look as if she were the oddest creature in the world.

"Now what is it, Almighty Sange?" Said a woman, who seriously didn't look a day over twenty-the exact age Sange looked. "Oh, you decided not to drown one and brought it home? How peculiar."

"She is the labyrinth's latest victim mother," Sange bent to kiss the lovely woman on the cheek.

Kassydie took in the appearance of the female kelpie. Just like Sange she had dark black hair, only it reached down to her feet rather than her mid back and wasn't tied up. Her eyes were pale lavender, Sange must have gotten his eyes from his father. She looked to be a full ten inches shorter than Sange while managing to be about four inches taller than Kassydie, placing her in the 5'5" range. The woman wore a white dress that settled as if the material were as light as feathers.

"Ah and why have you brought her?"

"I was hoping you could make her some clothes real quick, she'll need shoes and a bandage for her foot."

"You expect me to do all that on one of your whims?"

Sange laughed and left the room, "Put her in blue."

"To match my eyes?" Kassydie inquired.

"No," Sange peeked back at her from the kitchen doorway, "To match your underclothes." He ducked back out before Kassydie could throw Sharrick at him. Actually, Sharrick had followed Sange towards the kitchen, possibly in hopes of food.

"You pervert!" She shouted instead.

Sange's mother had grabbed her hand and was leading her up a short flight of stairs. "Won't be too hard to get you something. You and I are about the same size besides height."

"Um, I'm Kassydie," Kassydie introduced.

"Lorriella." Sange's mother answered and shoved the limping girl into a well lit sewing room. "Let's see," The woman mumbled to herself and reached into a bag and pulled out very old fashioned looking medical supplies. "Sit."

Kassydie obeyed the command and sat down in the chair before the ancient spindle.

Lorriella knelt in front of Kassydie and gently cleaned and dressed the large gash in her foot. "Is there a story to this?"

"Um, I almost drowned. It looked like a squid." Kassydie said, "And I lost my shoes, then stepped on some glass while we were walking here because I had to take off most of my clothes to get away." Kassydie blushed, she was still not happy with the fact that Sange had seen her nearly bare of any clothes, and had carried her with so little clothing on.

"That was my husband," Lorriella chirped happily, "He often transforms into a kraken when he's in the marsh. He says it's more dramatic."

"Oh, um," Kassydie had no idea how to react, "That's, uh, nice. So, how old are you?"

"Me? I'm five hundred and sixty two." She giggled, "Still young enough to be proud of my age!"

Kassydie fought the urge to gape, "So, uh, how old is Sange?"

"Ah, he's the baby of the family. Only two hundred and ten. Such a fine young man he is though."

"Ah…huh." Kassydie watched as Lorriella secured the bandages and moved to the spindle.

Lorriella worked the basic machine quickly and frantically. Everything moved to quickly for Kassydie's human eyes to be able to comprehend. She was only aware of the feathery ocean blue cloth streaming from Lorriella's hands and her tools. It seemed like no time at all and she held up a long dress of fluffy layers of cloth with sleeves that went all the way to the knuckles of Kassydie's hands and a neckline that swooped and swirled modestly but sexily. Shyly Kassydie did as she was ordered and removed her cloak to don the feathery air light dress. She felt embarrassingly unclothed but the cloth was smooth and fun to twirl in, sending her skirts floating all around her like a Pacific blue aura. Lorriella slipped silky blue ballet flats onto Kassydie's feet once she'd stilled.

"Is it really okay for me to have this?" Kassydie asked, tying only the top ribbon of her cloak now that she had clothes underneath.

"Oh, of course." Lorriella smiled, "Come, you can help me in the kitchen now."

Kassydie looked at a clock and shrugged, she was running out of time but Lorriella couldn't possibly absorb too much of her time.

Kassydie hopped down the stairs.

"It's the exact color of your underclothes." Sange noted.

Kassydie glared, "Shut up and get your filthy mind off of my underclothes!"

Sharrick made a new little purring gurgling noise and nuzzled Kassydie. Kassydie pet her and continued into the fragrant kitchen. It smelled of whatever deliciously scented entrée was stewing in the large pot.

"Stir this; I've got to finish the barbed berry pie." Lorriella instructed.

"Um, I'm not sure it's a good idea." Kassydie mumbled shyly.

"Why ever not?" Lorriella demanded.

"I'm terrible at that sort of thing. I'll make a mess."

"No, no, that's fine. Just stir it before it burns to the bottom."

And so the newly employed kitchen worker shrugged and headed over to the rather tall pot. She took the large wooden spoon and scraped the contents away from the bottom, managing to splash liquids out of the pot no matter how careful she was. This thoroughly upset her as she didn't want to inconvenience Sange's lovely mother.

*^*%*^*

Jareth watched Kassydie's kitchen mishap in his orb. Jamie was busying herself among the goblins, getting rides and pulling ears and pinching noses for her own amusement. The goblins were enjoying it too. They laughed and swung the baby around.

Watching Kassydie in the kitchen brought back memories of her earlier childhood. He had watched her whenever she'd gone to Sarah's house. He had locked away one memory in particular, but he revisited it now.

_A seven year old Kassydie, still having both parents and still a carefree child, sloshed hot water onto the stove and herself and began to cry in her distress. Sarah turned to her crying granddaughter in hopes of alleviating the pain from the hot jello water._

"_Where are you hurt?" crackled her now withered voice, though it still carried the same strength and kindness as it had when she was in the labyrinth._

"_I'm not." Kassydie sniffled._

"_Then why are you crying?"_

_Kassydie looked at the blue water as it dripped to the floor. "I can't do it! Everything always falls out!"_

_Kassydie had been afflicted with the same kitchen habits as Sarah. Nothing stayed where it was supposed to._

_Jareth had felt a strange warmness at the thought of the little girl being so particularly clumsy in the kitchen. A warmth he immediately passed off as an emotional influence caused by his love for Sarah, and Sarah's love for the little girl._

"_But that's fine, we just clean it up, like this. See?"_

_Kassydie immediately brightened and she assisted Sarah in the reversal of the mishap._

Jareth shook himself out of his reverie. He had never understood his attachment to Kassydie. It must have been because Sarah showed so much love for the girl that it seemed impossible not to be fond of her. Of course, Kassydie had spent so much time with Sarah that he had watched her grow with his former beloved. It was hard not to become attached to someone you've known for their entire life. Of course, he ended this train of thought abruptly. He didn't want to go into the reasons why he had watched her even when she was away from Sarah.

*^*%*^*

"You weren't kidding." Lorriella mused, looking at the mess Kassydie had made of her stew.

Kassydie looked down, chagrinned, "I'm sorry, I tried."

"Tried to what?" Sange hassled, "Recreate the Dwarfish Goblinian War?"

"I'll clean it up," Kassydie defended.

"No, Sharrick's got it." Lorriella said, watching as the Salamander happily licked up all the spills. "Come, we must eat."

"Oh, no, I really should be going." Kassydie said, "I've got to solve the labyrinth and I've got only nine hours and twenty-three minutes left."

"Are you sure you won't enjoy a meal with us? You're far too skinny for a mortal girl." Lorriella shook her head disapprovingly.

"I'm sure. Thank you for everything." Kassydie turned to Sharrick, "Do you want to come the rest of the way with me?"

Sharrick was reluctant to leave the kind Lorriella and her food. "_Sharrick_?" The little creature asked.

"Of course you can stay," Kassydie said, seemingly understanding, "I'm sure we'll meet up again soon enough."

"_Sharrick."_ Sharrick told her confidently.

Kassydie nodded, "Yes, I'll call if I need you."

"You act as if you understand her," Sange noted.

Kassydie shrugged and headed for the door, "I do."

*^*%*^*

Kassydie shrugged her way through the low hanging vegetation. It seemed to be the Underground equivalent of Weeping Willows. She looked around her cautiously; she really didn't want to run into any more dangers. Why couldn't she have puzzles and such like Grandma Sarah had?

"This is hardly fair."

"Sarah talked similarly."

Kassydie couldn't bear to look around so instead of facing the Goblin King she gritted her teeth and kept going. She felt Jareth walking alongside her silently. She could bear no longer.

"You gave Jamie her medicine right?"

"An hour and forty-two minutes ago." The handsome king assured her.

"Then you have to give her more in eighteen minutes. Every two hours."

"Please, don't insult me." Jareth rolled his beautifully unmatched eyes, "I've been around for far longer than you, and I think I can remember simple directions regarding the health of a baby."

"You can't blame me for being worried about the responsibility skills of a man who takes away sick babies just because a girl is trying to tell a bedtime story." Kassydie growled, shoving through underbrush and concentrating on the leaves, trying desperately to keep her eyes from taking in his tall boots, riding pants, and the regal black cape over the billowing white shirt and all that the clothing contained. Thinking about not looking had gotten her to look and with a flush of her cheeks she commanded her unruly eyes to _quit checking him out already!_

Jareth chuckled as if he knew exactly what was going on with her.

"How do you expect to defeat my labyrinth when you're so drawn to me?" He asked in his deep, slightly husky voice.

"I'm not drawn to you." Kassydie snapped, total lie…

"Oh, yes you are, Kassydie." Jareth blocked her from ignoring him any longer and cornered her against the wall and a tree.

"Would you back off?" Instead of the command she had hoped to make it her voice betrayed her and made it sound as if she were begging instead.

Jareth laughed cruelly, his voice tinged with dark bitterness as he said, "Sarah never looked at me twice. She never cared to see me as anything but the villain of her story. But you, oh, Kassydie, you just can't stop looking. You can't stop making excuses for my behavior."

"You're a creepy stalker." Kassydie mumbled, not looking him in the eye, trying to think of some way to get out of this. What he'd said was true, she found it nearly impossible not to be attracted to him. But he was a Sidhe, humans are supposed to be attracted to Sidhe.

A gloved hand turned her face up to look into unbalanced green eyes. Jareth stared into Kassydie's flashing deep blue eyes. Her emotions were so obviously displayed in their starry depths. Irritation, confusion, incensed.

"Kassydie, you try too hard. The labyrinth has been a terrible burden on you. You don't have to do it anymore, I hate seeing you suffer so. The labyrinth has never been so cruel as this."

Kassydie stared into his eyes, he was so close. Jareth was leaning into her. Time seemed to slow. Centimeters closed between Jareth's lips and Kassydie's. Was this a trick? A test? She felt the brush of Jareth's lips on hers, only nanoseconds and the pressure unsurely increased. Gloved hands had tightened around her and she had to do something. Could she give in? Could she kiss the Goblin King?

Kassydie slammed her head back at the same time as she pushed Jareth away as hard as she could. She whacked a sore spot on her head and sent the King stumbling backwards a couple of surprised steps.

"Ow, no, ow, ow, ow." Kassydie cringed and rubbed her head, "No." She said again.

When she looked up at Jareth again his eyes were flashing with anger and, possibly hurt.

"I have been kind, up until now, but I can be cruel." Jareth growled the familiar warning through tense muscles.

"I know," Kassydie whimpered a little, still rubbing her head, "But I have to get Jamie back. I've wasted so much time here already. I'm leaving. I'm sorry, King Jareth. Just leave me alone! Go away!"

Kassydie didn't look back at him, she just ran before she could stop herself. She ran, and tried to defeat the next obstacle, though she was sure the hardest one had passed.

*^*%*^*

Had Kassydie looked back, she'd have seen hurt and dismay cross Jareth's features before confusion took their place. He didn't understand why she ran, he didn't understand why she hadn't let him kiss her, he didn't understand why he'd wanted to kiss her, and he didn't even fully understand why he'd gone to her in the first place.

Why couldn't he leave her alone?

He had been feeling restless in his castle. He had wanted to see Kassydie, not in some useless orb, but with his own eyes. He'd wanted to see her deep, expressive eyes, to feel her feathery hair, to draw in the scent of well used books and herbal shampoo that clung to her even now. And he had wanted to taste her. The more he saw her, the more he wanted. And he just didn't understand why. It had been different with Sarah. More fun, much more fun. Sarah had been fun to manipulate throughout the labyrinth. It had been fun to watch her cower before him and it had been fun to see her entranced by him. It had not been fun to watch her defeat him, to utterly destroy him. No, that part was not fun.

And so Jareth berated himself his attachment. What if Kassydie did the same thing? No, he would not stand that. He would not take it. For she resisted his seduction, just as Sarah had. She met him with ferocity and intrigue, just as Sarah had. It surely, she would tear him apart…just like Sarah had.

In a moment of weakness, the Goblin King sighed and leaned against the towering walls of his labyrinth, as if he could lay all of his problems unto it as well. He stared up at the fiery sky and wondered at the reason he was putting himself through this again.

He felt more tortured here than he had when the labyrinth was for Sarah. Was it because Kassydie was in such real danger? Was he such a weak king that he could not bear the thought of killing a mere human? It was preposterous!

However, he had almost panicked after Kassydie had nearly drowned. He had needed to see her for himself after that, to be absolutely sure she had survived.

"Oh, Your Highness, bit of trouble?"

Jareth looked at his advisor who had seemed to show up out of the blue. Blue, blue eyes, Kassydie's eyes, Kassydie's- He shook himself out of that train of thought.

"This is none of your concern."

"But it is. You've forced me into this game of yours. I have to play it just as much as that human does."

"Then why aren't you playing? She's headed for the brownies now. Get out there and make sure she does not reach my castle."

"Bah, you misuse your advisor, my King. I am here only to guide your process of thinking, your decisions. I'm not one of your goblin dogs to be shoved into errands."

"Go. Now. You insolent fool!" Jareth's voice hadn't raised a single pitch but there was ice in those words. The words of a king who refused to be disobeyed.

"As you wish, You're Highness." The advisor bowed low and stepped back into the willow trees to rustle the brownies and make sure they killed the girl.

**Shorter chapter this time but I'm dying to get this one up! I want more Jareth in here, really. This one is shorter than the last chapter; I'll try to remedy that in the future. In short, thank God for spell check and Freddie Mercury!!! Until next chapter, darlings!**


	7. 5th Hour

**Once again it seems that I owe Nikxter a credits. Of course, just to keep you all reading, I'm going to put the reason why at the END! Dah da daaahm!**

"Oops, messy." Jareth murmured to Jamie and wiped the medicine from around her little mouth. Next time he'd sit her up and give it to her, it had seemed harder for the baby to choke it down when she was cradled in his arms.

Jamie yawned, "Kashry?"

Jareth offered her a half smile, "Not now, take a nap."

"Kashry," Jamie argued with the persistence of a tired toddler.

Jareth only chuckled, "You're falling asleep, you won't be able to hold the crystal."

"Kash-hhaaaah," Jamie yawned and dozed off, snuggled in his arms.

Jareth cradled the tired baby and rocked her slightly back and forth. She wouldn't be seeing Kassydie any long. He didn't want her to watch her older sister die, now did he? No, Jamie would be carefully sheltered from Kassydie's death once the labyrinth finally claimed her. Jamie would forget about her soon enough.

He had finally decided that his confusing feelings for her would only be quelled by her death. That had to be it, right? He would just make sure the kelpie and salamander didn't interfere further, the labyrinth would take her for certain then. After that, Jareth could focus on raising Jamie and ruling his kingdom, without any foolish teenagers running around his labyrinth, casting their mortal magic of appeal on him. He had been in love with Sarah; he knew what love felt like. What he felt for Kassydie was entirely different. It irritated him, made him restless, distracted him, and often caused what felt like physical pain, especially when she was with the kelpie or when the labyrinth was starting to claim her.

No, none of it made sense. Therefore, she had to die. The labyrinth would swallow her whole and suck out her final breaths, somehow. Since he didn't know how it would happen or how gruesome it would be, he didn't want Jamie to see whatever horrific death would befall Kassydie Monarch.

Jareth looked at the toddler snuggled safely in his arms and felt an uncomfortable twinge in his heart, one he couldn't name. He felt bad to be allowing the death of Jamie's favorite relative, right? To be, in extension, killing the last kindness Jamie had by blood.

He set Jamie in her crib and took a black leather glove from his hand, something he never did in the courtroom. But, seeing as they were in the clean confines he'd set up as Jamie's room, well, nothing unsavory would contact his skin. He brushed his bare fingers through the baby's hair and felt the softness of her young skin.

If he touched Kassydie without his gloves, would it be the same? Or would her womanly skin feel different from the innocent toddler's  
skin? Jareth idly wondered. His hands itched to touch her without a leather barrier to keep him from truly feeling her. From finding out if her skin was really as smooth as it seemed, if her hair was really as feather soft as it looked.

Jareth fondled Jamie's tiny little fingers between his, running his fingertips along her tiny nails and gently scratching his own nails over her little fingerprints. He marveled at how very small she was. She seemed so frail and innocent. Rather like Kassydie seemed frail, though she obviously wasn't.

Jareth smoothed out the long nightgown he'd put Jamie in after a montage of every type of clothing he could manifest. He'd changed Jamie's clothes as often as he'd changed his own. Jamie looked particularly adorable in the oversized but elegant sleeping gown. It was almost the exact shade as Kassydie's new dress. The skirt looked wonderfully light on Kassydie, unfortunately the top of the gown was always obscured by the blasted cloak she insisted on wearing no matter how hot the labyrinth got. Well, except for when she had come out of  
the marsh, wearing almost nothing but still dragging the cloak with her. He vaguely wished that she'd left it off. Then Jareth could properly inspect the way the gentle cloth hugged her womanly figure just right and swooped around her pale throat only to plunge just below her bare collarbone.

Jamie slept soundly, leaving Jareth with his wandering thoughts. He smoothed Jamie's hair fondly. He bent down over the sleeping child and pressed his lips tenderly to her tiny forehead in an affectionate kiss.

He had felt just fine mere minutes ago. Why did he feel so restless now? What turn had his thoughts taken that now held him securely in such an irritated mood?

Jareth tugged the glove back on and meandered slowly back to his courtroom while he composed his emotions.

*^*%*^*

"Oh, Grandma!" Kassydie whined to the book in her pocket, "This keeps changing, I know it!! What am I supposed to do?"

Kassydie had been stuck among the dull gray bricks for quite some time. Over her head was a canopy of dark green leaves, she hadn't seen a single tree from which they could have spawned, but she was more concerned with the fact that the walls were smooth and unclimbable, and no matter how she marked her path she was certain she was being led into circles by the labyrinth.

"This is infuriating! I wish there were a way out of this thing already!!" Kassydie growled and turned right. Unbelievably, complaining actually worked. She found herself face to face with a rather large tunnel. "Not exactly what I meant, but I'll take it."

Kassydie stepped soundlessly closer to the uninviting cave mouth. She couldn't see anything past the length of her arm and she wasn't even in the cave yet. Stalactites beckoned her inward, dripping with a dark liquid that, in this lighting, could have been anything from blood to kool-aid.

Kassydie suppressed a shudder as the cold air creped out of the cave like a choking hand and enclosed itself around her as if it were a tangible thing. Before Kassydie lost her nerve she threw herself under the stalactites and into the cave.

Kassydie held her hand over the pocket with her Grandmother's book. She drew comfort from having something so familiar near to her when everything else around her was strange and hostile. She stepped into the darkness, willing one foot in front of the other, letting her desire for Jamie pull her through the dense shadows. Kassydie wished she had Sharrick around. She had a feeling a salamander would be particularly useful in the darkness of the cave.

She imagined Sharrick in her mind when she thought about her. However, letting herself imagine one thing caused her to imagine many others. And soon, all of her fears about the unknown were projected into the darkness. From Kassydie's mind things raked her back and grappled for her ankles. From Kassydie's mind the darkness meant her  
harm. She knew there was nothing behind her but she was almost too scared to move for fear her imagination could be reality. Her own thoughts had her running through the labyrinth--underground, not above it, labyrinth. She fled from frightening things that she had made up herself.

Only when Kassydie couldn't bear to run through the uncertain darkness any longer did she realize how stupid and childish she was being. She was a legal adult now! She shouldn't be running from specters she made up and wasting all of her energy! In this labyrinth there was definitely something far worse she needed to save her energy for. This wasn't a comforting thought in the least but it helped her to snap out of it and sober up from her fright fest. When Kassydie reached the unfeeling wall that blocked her path she turned back around.

Kassydie wound through the never ending twists. She was lost with not even the sky over her head to guide her. For the first time in the labyrinth she truly felt lost. How much time was left? Had she been in here minutes, or hours? She couldn't tell. Another turn, soon followed by unsurpassable wall. She turned back. Turn, stop, turn back, turn, stop, turn back. An endless routine and a useless dance. Kassydie was utterly lost in the inky darkness. If it could be called darkness. There was darkness, and then there was this. This was a darkness so complete, it was more than just an absence of light. It was an absence of happiness, life, emotion. There was nothing in the void in front of her eyes but empty solitude. The shadows engulfed her like a living thing and overpowered her senses until she wasn't sure if she'd ever stood under a blue sky on a sunny day, next to an open grave. The darkness filled her and she was lost in it, stumbling noisily through the sinister tunnels.

"Grandma," Kassydie pleaded help from the only kindness she could remember. "Please send me strength from heaven."

Kassydie took a deep breath and fought against the spasms of terror in her chest. Don't think about the darkness, Kassydie thought to herself, just think of Jamie, and Grandma, and Mom and Dad in heaven. Think about good things, pleasant things. Think only of magnificence and power. An image of Jareth popped unbidden into her mind and she fought to erase the mental image. Magnificence and power? This is what her subconscious comes up with? The Goblin King!? Although, he was quite powerful, and certainly magnificent. But, he was the bad guy. The kidnapper.

The kidnapper whose eyes sparkled when he talked about giving Jamie her medicine? Oh yes, he's quite sinister. Kassydie whacked her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it." She chanted to herself angrily. "He's the Sidhe who captured your little sister and is holding her against her will."

But it was well known, to her anyway, that Sidhe actually loved humans. They found them fascinating and enjoyable and often came out of the Otherworld to teach them things. They sometimes even fell in love with them.

"Stop justifying him, dammit!" Kassydie yelled at herself.

And instantly regretted it. She had been quite noisy and had just realized that above her head there was no ceiling, she had sensed that the tunnel walls went up much higher than her head. All that space had to have something, and she'd just woken them up. Kassydie didn't wait for the danger as the things on the ceiling began crawling across it. She ran.

Kassydie took whatever turn came up first or was easiest to make and she ran through it as fast as she could. Whatever was on the ceiling definitely had friends, lots of friends. She heard squelching, tapping, and hissing noises behind her and she pushed her body to move faster. She was newly surprised at the deep wells of her inner strength. For someone who joined fewer physical activities than Konata Izumi, she was a damned good runner. Just like, well, Konata Izumi. Kassydie focused only on pumping her legs one in front of the other. The more she strained her muscles the slower it seemed she went. She felt like she was running through the filling of a chocolate cornet.

Kassydie wanted to check back over her shoulder but she knew it was useless to attempt to discern what she was running from. She couldn't even see the hair that hung low into the corners of her vision. But she heard them and they sounded angry. The hissing got louder, were they closer? Or were they angrier? They sounded angrier, but maybe she was only thinking that because she didn't want them to be closer, ever. She saw a tiny light at the end of the corridor she'd just turned into. The way out! but she knew, that even when she broke out into the light and away from this darkness she would not be freed from the horrid things chasing her.

The light gave her hope, so Kassydie pushed her muscles to run faster, she had to get out of this dream-like slowness.

Kassydie filled her lungs with a deep breath as she ran out into the daylight. She felt waves of relief cascade over her. Even if she was once again running for her life it was comforting to be out of that abysmal darkness. Kassydie heard the things still chasing her and chanced a glance backwards because she just couldn't help it.

She immediately regretted it. It had been far better to run without knowing what it was she ran from. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw impossibly large spiders. They were shining and black and had legs as tall as she was and long fangs dripping with poison. Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared angrily at her as the horde ran to whatever they could pull from her bones. Kassydie pushed herself on.

"Spiders don't chase their food!" She shrieked, "This is cheating!" She ran and hid behind a turn in this new section of the maze she'd found herself in. "Where's that ghoul when he'll actually be useful?"

Sound of dripping poison and segmented legs drew closer to the weary young woman. Kassydie sucked in three, deep, calming breathes and ran again, escaping the wall just as the spiders rounded the corner next to it. Kassydie dared a glance backward only to shudder at the thought of those large fangs injecting her with their slimy poisons and disemboweling her. Why chase her at all? Surely such impossible creatures could find a better meal to waste their energy on.

Suddenly, from the air above, a grating shrieking shattered the skies. It was a terrible sound equivalent to nails with glass shoved underneath them being dragged across a chalkboard. Kassydie glanced up as she ran and saw a creature of childhood nightmares. The ghoul! Kassydie dared not hope, lest she jinx herself and put herself in further peril.

Kassydie ran blindly through wind renched tears, torn mercilessly from her burning eyes. She ran away from the sounds of carnage behind her as the ghoul feasted on the large, poisonous spiders. She ran long after the sounds of slobbery dining had faded with the increasing distance.

When she finally stopped it was only because her body would not let her run any longer. Kassydie stood with her arms resting on top of her head so she could breathe better. She blinked the tears and dust out of her eyes and looked around. The place she was in was story book fairy. It was a beautiful field of grass and flowers with a line of trees around it. The gray walls of another maze lie before her, and beyond that, the much larger castle beyond the goblin city.

Kassydie had battled this far, for now, she would have to find water.

*^*%*^*

The crystal shattered satisfyingly into the stones above a small eyed goblin and the broken shards reined down upon the scant hair on his wrinkled head.

"Foiled!" Jareth growled, "By a human girl!"

He paced back and forth in long strides, tapping his riding crop against the side of his leg as he pondered how best to be rid of the young woman. Kassydie was coming ever closer to him, to take Jamie away. Jamie, whom he'd already decided to keep as his own child, to raise as his own heir, to love as his companion and friend. Kassydie wanted to tear all that he now wanted away. When he had begun this game he'd wished only to study Kassydie further. He wanted to learn all he could about this amazing woman of Sarah's blood. He had been drawn to her, but he hadn't expected her to last so long in the labyrinth, not really.

What was it about these two women that they could best his labyrinth? Why was he so drawn to them? He didn't have answers for these questions. And Jareth hated not being able to answer a question. He hated not being able to foresee the next move or being able to control the next occurrence. Such things belittled him and frustrated him and in general pissed him off.

The blue-eyed Kassydie was more infuriating than she should have been. His emotions were mixed up and he didn't know why. He stepped on stray shards of the crystal he'd thrown and decided to ground them into the floor. He sighed, he was throwing a fit. He needed to calm down. A king cannot rule with a befuddled brain. And he was nothing, if not a king. Even if his kingdom consisted of goblins and dwarves.

Jareth needed a place to cool his nerves and think. He knew of a place where he could do so properly. There was a hill, that was at just the angle to see all of Underground, not just his labyrinth. His more creative goblins had carved his face into three stones and you couldn't see the portrayal unless you were at just the right angle. He liked this place. It was lush and green this time of the year, not like it had been when Sarah had entered the labyrinth. As soon as he'd decided upon it, Jareth found himself there, standing atop a high rock and looking out over the vast expanse of Underground. Aboveground had many nice qualities, the people, the monuments, the technology. But Underground was full of so much more. It didn't have very many humans, but it had unpenetrated expanses of forests, vast fields of flowers, and.....Kassydie?

As Jareth had been musing over the landscape a familiar figure entered his line of vision. Kassydie had stopped and was staring at something, Jareth almost feared she'd spotted him but her gaze was far too low to include him in it. She started giggling and even from his perch high above he could hear the melodic sound. What was she--? Ah, she saw his likeness in the stones.

Jareth watched as Kassydie walked up closer to the stones, amusement sparkled in her eyes and he caught her words.

"Oh, Grandma, this is the best portrayal I've seen of him, yet." She touched the stone chin and drew her fingers across the lips. "A man of stone indeed."

Jareth felt his eyes narrow. She viewed him that way? If she had learned anything in the labyrinth it should have been that things are not always what they seem. But, he seemed stone hearted, and she took him for stone hearted. How......... Well, Jareth didn't quite know how he felt about that yet. Kassydie moved to the second stone, drawing her hand across the cheek bone and nose, as if she were a professional judge and she was appraising the art. Jareth's gloved hand found it's way to the path she was tracing on his stony likeness's cheek. He shoved his hand back down as soon as he'd realized. What was it about her? Surely she wasn't a fey or so gifted a human as to be a witch. Kassydie appeared to be inspecting the center stone from all sides.

"It's really cool, did you ever see this, Grandma?" Kassydie asked herself.

She was talking to her grandmother? To Sarah? How? How, how, how?

Jareth watched as Kassydie looked down at an object in her hands, a small, red, rectangular object. A book of some sort.

"I suppose it's about time I started back into the stupid maze, Grandma." Kassydie began walking away from the stones.

She had been talking to the book. But Jareth felt no magic or presence to indicate the book was enchanted with the sprit of Sarah. Wait, that was the very book Jareth had given Sarah on her birthday a year or so before he took her into the labyrinth. He had given Kassydie a present when she'd turned the same age. Why did Kassydie have the book? She seemed to treasure it, the gift from him. She treasured it as Sarah had treasured it, if not more, since Kassydie found a comfort from her grandmother's love for the book. He understood now that Kassydie hadn't been talking to Sarah's spirit directly, but had been drawing comfort from the book. Was it the presence of Sarah Kassydie imagined in the book that gave her strength? Jareth decided then that somehow he would take the book away. He would take away from Kassydie everything that was familiar to her and leave her alone and unprotected in his labyrinth. The lack of her relics would make her weak. And when she was at her weakest, Jareth would defeat her completely. A smile tugged the corners of his lips as he thought about finally being dominant over young Kassydie.

As Kassydie walked farther away Jareth stepped away from the edge of the rock and appeared once again in his throne room. He had found Kassydie's weakness in the book.

*^*%*^*

As Kassydie went through this new maze she thought back on the spectacle she'd seen at the rocks. When she'd been heading towards the rocky likeness of the Goblin King she had noticed a figure standing atop a rather tall rock, she watched the figure through her peripheral vision as she'd gotten closer until she could no longer watch him with out looking up. Kassydie thought it was safe to assume the figure to be Jareth.

Even then, she hadn't been able to stop herself from inspecting the statues. They were well crafted. She had wondered if the goblins made them, though it seemed unlikely. Jareth might have made them...he seemed the type. The stone was what held more interest for her, though. She'd never felt a stone so smooth, it was like polished wood. She was thoroughly amazed by it and planned on finding the craftsman as soon as she rescued Jamie. Maybe she could get them to make her a stone Misha figurine the same way. Kassydie giggled. What a childish wish.

Kassydie continued along her cobblestone path, dragging her hand along the high walls made of millions of rocks piled together until they fit just like the pieces of a puzzle. In the dying sunlight all the rocks were cast in rosy shades of gray, peach, white, and orange. It was actually quite beautiful. She soon came into what seemed like a new maze, one made completely of sandstones and statues that looked like something a drugged artist would create. Some of the statues had hands jutting out from all odd angles, others were made of stony spirals and stone blades. Kassydie figured she was in some kind of courtyard. She came upon a chair, made of giant stone books. This chair was occupied. The sleeping figure wore a long necked bird hat. His gray hair and beard were long, covering his many layers of robes and obscuring much of his wrinkled face. Kassydie decided to sneak by and let the old thing sleep.

"Whoo, hoo, hoo." Squawked a high pitched voice.

Kassydie immediately straightened up and turned to the goblin who had just begun to wake up.

"H-hi." She called to him unsurely.

The goblin man spoke in an entirely different voice, "A young woman? How very long it has been."

Kassydie was startled by the voice like the turning pages of ancient tomes, "Wasn't it you that just spoke?"

"Humph!" Crowed the hat, "Yah right! He can hardly stay awake long enough to say hello!"

"Well, um, can you two help me? I've been trying to get through this maze to the castle beyond the goblin city. But, I'm afraid I've run into quite a lot of trouble. And I'm really worried since it's almost night." Kassydie admitted.

"Seek, and you shall be sought. Ask, and you shall receive. Take nothing for granted for things are not always as they seem in this place." The wiseman seemed to be listing different sayings and pieces of advice but Kassydie listened regardless.

"Bah, what a bunch of bull--"

"Quiet!" The goblin demanded.

"Ask and I shall..." Kassydie thought, what did she want to know most of all, right now? "How do I protect myself from the dangers of the labyrinth?"

The goblin spoke as if speech were a labor but answered anyway, "To protect yourself from the dangers of the labyrinth--"

"You'd need a miracle!" Chirped the annoying hat.

"Will you be quiet?" The goblin demanded sternly.

"Humph!" Growled the hat.

"You will need to open your mind and accept certain powers." The wise man nodded off to sleep.

The hat looked down at him, "And that's the end." He chirped, "Please leave a contribution in the little box."

The old goblin's hand moved and shook a dark wooden box as if the hat were in control of the old man's limbs.

Kassydie stepped up closer. She never really wore much jewelry. She checked her hands and wrists, she didn't have any rings or bracelets, and she'd thrown her owl necklace into the grave with her Grandmother. She checked her ears. What luck! She was wearing a pair of spherical pearl earrings. She musn't have taken them off since the funeral! She took them off and dropped them into the box happily, pleased to have something to give them.

"Thank you." Kassydie said and turned to make her way to the castle beyond the goblin city.

"Gracias!" Chirped the bird hat, "Bah, sucker." She heard the last phrase directed toward her back. She only shrugged and pressed onward.

Kassydie looked at a nearby clock. In one more minute, she would only have six hours left in which to solve the labyrinth, or she would lose Jamie forever.

**I'm so sorry that took so long! ^.^ Find it in your hearts to forgive this useless person? This chapter was kind of hard. I haven't really planned ahead very well. I don't have a lot of ****obstacles for her so I'll have to think really, really, hard on chapter 6 to make it even more fun. I really want to get a little more Jareth in but there's really not much to be done with him. Lazy thing. Many loves, please stroke my ego by leaving a review!!**

**Nikxter: Hey guys if you're wondering why Ice Angel262 owes me so much, it's because she no longer has the ability to upload her own stories! Ha! I know, hilarious right? So now it's my job to make sure this story gets uploaded. I HAVE ULTIMATE CONTROL OF WHEN YOU GET TO READ THE STORY!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Nah, just kidding. So if you get peeved at how long the story is taking to get uploaded, make sure to send all those lovely comments to the actual author of the story, not me.**


	8. 6th Hour

**Has everyone said thank you to the oh so gracious Nikxter? ^w^ I've had a reader ask if I was going to use a ballroom to distract Kassydie and, well, **_**wouldn't you like to know!**_** XP Just know, that I've already thought that far ahead and I plan to make that sort of thing happen on maybe the 11th hour. I'm going to try really hard to make this chapter 10,000 words! Although that's probably not going to happen here and you'll all just have to wait until chapter 9 or 10. That scene is going to be made so much better by Jamie's popularity! Now, let's see if we can make this an actual horror?**

Most of Kassydie's adventure in the labyrinth would be traveled in the darkness of nightfall. Her sixth hour had only just started and the night was deepening, along with Jareth's darker thoughts. The Underground night sky was a landscape of changing stars and eddies of bright lights as the stars in the air ran around, chasing and cajoling each other. The darkness here was thick with magic, good and bad. And, like a vampire rising from its coffin, the darker side of Jareth awoke with the moon. It was inexplicable, the sunshine made him feel nicer, but the darkness was bitter and lonely for him, especially when all the goblins went to bed. Jareth was left to his own thoughts and musings. He had many other things he needed to focus on besides that cursed human girl. Such as, he had noticed that a few of his goblins had begun going to bed earlier, and looked more and more each day like they were rotting. These goblins were close to death, and that was always a troubling ordeal. The goblin women weren't getting proper nutrition, they made the worst things for themselves to eat so he was going to have to do something about that since the new goblin babes weren't getting healthy enough, which would effect their lifetime over all. Many parts of the labyrinth needed repairing. Some of the stones were getting old and needed replacing, the plants needed water, stone callers had gotten in again. All of this would need to be remedied quickly. Not to mention the fact that the dwarves were at it again, trying to take over the goblins and kill them all in a genocide to wipe out the 'lowliest' of the fey. Jareth would need to personally oversee the retaking of the dwarves. And books, the goblins were becoming quite illiterate, he'd have to make a trip to Aboveground and buy some pre-school books for the Goblin Library.

He had far too much work to do to worry about Kassydie.

And yet...

Jareth caught himself wondering if the labyrinth had killed her yet and worrying over her safety. It was embarrassing even in his own head. He needed her dead, he wanted her safe. He had been charmed by her, that was certain. What kind of magic spell had she used? Was it the changing blue of her eyes? The forced optimism of her smile? The childishness of her personality? The womanliness of her mind? She was the worst type of witch. A witch who threw bombardments of power at him without knowing it. Why didn't she know? She was so clever, why couldn't she tell? Didn't she understand what she did to him? Jareth found solace in blaming her for being interesting but only until his immaturity on that aspect sickened him. Kassydie. Trapped in the labyrinth. Trapped by her stepmother. Trapped by time. Trapped by school. Trapped by everything but him.

"Stop that. Stop it now." He commanded his mind. But his mind wasn't like his goblins. It kept going, no matter how he tried to control it.

Kassydie. Kassydie Monarch. And how like a monarch she was. Regal in her dealings with her classmates. Fearless in her dealings with him. Strong in her dealings with companions. Beautiful in every way Jareth was or wasn't. Who was the real Sidhe here? Was it he? Or was it Kassydie? With her stunning beauty, entrancing eyes, far off gaze... But she wasn't perfect. Jareth smiled warmly into the darkness of his garden.

"She's clumsy," He said aloud to remind himself, he'd watched her along with Sarah and she hadn't grown out of it. She was still as clumsy now as she was when she was three. "And she's easily startled." He had watched her jump and scream just running into people in the hallways of her school. She was ever so short, and she hardly paid attention, she ran into others often, yelping in surprise and running away for no apparent reason. It was always a heart warming spectacle. "And she's anti-social," Kassydie hardly talked to the others in her school, preferring to bury her nose in a book rather than catch up on the latest celebrity rehab. Not even teasing classmates phased her, nor vindictive girls, jealous of the attention she received. "And she's blunt." She seemed unable to sugarcoat the things she said and observed and often didn't seem to know what was best left out.

"And she's got you wrapped around her finger, you're Highness." Chuckled a sadistic voice next to him.

"You talk too formally to your King," Jareth growled to his advisor.

Said advisor only chuckled and shrugged, "I am your advisor, am I not? I am supposed to be blunt with my Lord in all situations, so that he may reflect upon his actions, and if needed, change their courses."

Jareth took this into consideration, as much as he hated it, it was exactly as his advisor said. "So then, elaborate."

The advisor stood and looked out over the garden with Jareth. "The human girl has you wrapped around her finger in the sense that you lose your head when it comes to her. You act irrationally. Because she is the blood of the maiden you once loved, you feel the need to coddle her when she should be destroyed. She is dangerous to you because you cannot stop thinking about her, because you can see her as nothing but precious."

"And what do you advise I do about it?" Jareth asked sardonically.

"I think you should allow me to lead her astray, if not kill her. She must not be allowed to defeat your labyrinth."

Jareth thought this over. He didn't have to kill her, did he? She needn't die, she just couldn't win against his labyrinth. Jareth had promised not to change the labyrinth before Kassydie had even gone in. But letting his advisor lead her astray didn't count as changing the labyrinth, for the advisor was already there.

"Let her trust you, make her trust you, and waste her time. Once the clock strikes thirteen, she will be back in the Aboveground, and I will have Jamie. And I will need no longer have anything to do with Kassydie Monarch."

"As you wish," The advisor said before bowing and fading into the shadows.

Jareth leaned against the railing and looked up at the wayward stars. Kassydie would be led astray by his advisor, because she would trust everyone but him. She lay her trust in the most dangerous of creatures, but never in one who would never lie to her, or intentionally hurt her...

*^*%*^*

"Oh, Grandma!" Kassydie gasped, gazing up at the stars, "Did you ever see the night sky in the Underground?"

Kassydie craned her neck up to the sky. The stars swirled above her head like a story her grandmother had once told her about the stars. It had been the first pop-up children's book published by Sarah King, her grandmother's pen name. Thinking back on it now, did that pen name have anything to do with her experiences with the _Goblin King_? Come to think of it, a lot of the stories seemed to have been based off of everything she'd told Kassydie about the Labyrinth, excluding her grandmother. There were stories of Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo, all centering around a lad named Toby and an Evil King, of course, the only evil was always taking a toy or something. Moral books, meh.

"I wonder if the King knows about your books, Grandma?" Kassydie giggled, "I think he'd be mad."

Most of Kassydie's time in the labyrinth was spent walking through mundane sections of high walls and dead ends. She vaguely wished for some sort of challenge whenever the boredom was at its worst, but then she thought back on her other _challenges_ in the labyrinth and decided not to take the breaks for granted. But Kassydie was very hungry. She hadn't eaten anything since that morning, which was now a long fourteen hours ago.

"Wow! Has it really been so long?" Kassydie wondered. She'd woken up that morning, eaten, gone to the funeral, and then had been swept into the labyrinth at around seven or eight that evening. Of course, thinking about how long it had been since her last meal only made her hungrier. "Oh, stop thinking about it!"

After all the stories she'd read and the story her grandmother told her, she was definitely _not_ ever eating any food in the Underground. As far as Kassydie was concerned, the Underground was just Fairie or Elfland with a different name than she was used to. When it came to humans eating fairy food, it was just glamour and trickery. Kassydie glared at the walls around her.

The walls were high and gray and the night was actually pleasant. The walls were covered with strawberry vines filled with ripened fruit. The succulent aroma filled the air around her. Strawberries have always been Kassydie's favorite.

"Soooo not cool, King!" Kassydie shouted at the king who wasn't there. Kassydie pressed her hand over her complaining stomach and determined to ignore it. She'd gone much longer without food. Really, when a huge battle is going on in the land of RPGMMOs one just can't make time to eat or sleep.

"Yeah!" Kassydie encouraged herself, "Remember that time, Kassydie? Three days straight, no food, water, or sleep. And you totally pawned all of those lame noobs that came to join in. Hah! You even kicked all the elites' asses! Ha hah ha! Steel yourself, Kassydie!"

"Wot are you doin'?" Asked a familiar voice.

"Esten?" Kassydie looked around her for the little dryad boy. "Where are you?"

"Look up!"

Kassydie kept walking, not looking up, "After what you did last time? No way!"

Esten grumbled with disappointment, he'd obviously had a prank planned for her. The fifty-year-old tree spirit child hopped down and joined her. His oak skin and light green hair, matched with the lavender tunic and brown pants, absolutely clashed with the red smears on his face and the torn goth gloves on his arms.

"I thought it was bad for you to leave the forest?" Kassydie reminded him.

Esten shrugged, "It's bad durin the day. I can't hide so wall durin the day. But at night, no one notices when a solitary fey is in ther midst."

"That's strange. Why don't ruled fey interact with solitary fey?" Kassydie mused.

"Wall, it's jes tha way it is." The green haired boy stretched his arms as they walked. "Wot yew doin' out at night anyhows, madam miss?"

"Kassydie, call me Kassydie, okay Esten?" Kassydie asked, "And, I'm looking for my little sister, still."

"You see thah King?"

Kassydie didn't look at the little fifty year old boy, "Well, yes."

"Didde look fine?" Esten inquired.

Kassydie chuckled, _more than fine, _she thought then blushed and berated herself for thinking like that., "He seemed his usual self to me..."

"Wot's he like withs yew, Kassydie?" Esten pried.

Kassydie shrugged, "Well, he's like, a king... He, um, looks at me sardonically, and like, taunts me with the time and with Jamie, um, tells me I should just give in to him because I've no hope of saving my sister. I'm paraphrasing but basically, that's it."

"Wall then hee's not fine!" Esten threw his hands up in the air like a frustrated child finally getting the answer they'd been trying for all along.

Kassydie laughed at him, "Depends on your definition of fine. No wounds, emotionally stable, attractive. Fine, I say."

"That's not how he usually seems, though!" Esten argued.

"Why are we talking about him?"

Esten shrugged, "I dunno, cuz he's the king and cuz you're human. Usually he only brings humans in ta test em or kill em or stuff like that."

"How very comforting," Kassydie's false smile was sweet and lady like, betraying the fact that she felt exactly opposite. "My concern is not the Goblin King, well, not my immediate concern. My immediate concern is getting out of the maze, this part at least."

"Even if you get to the castle, how'll yew get back?" Esten gazed at her questioningly.

Kassydie looked up as if the answer were in the shifting stars, "I'll figure that out when it poses as an immediate concern."

"You're interesting." Esten told her.

Kassydie nodded, "Thank you, I know. You'd make a good cosplayer." Kassydie gave a compliment back.

Esten only looked severely confused.

Kassydie sighed and gave up the complimenting side of her life, "Well, can you help me through this maze."

Esten shook his head, "I dunno how tah get through."

Kassydie's stupid stomach chose that moment to growl. Kassydie blushed and nearly slapped her own internal organ. She forced it out of her mind.

Esten started laughing, "You're hungry? We gots all these berries round and you ent eaten them?"

Kassydie shook her head furiously, "No, I don't want to take the chance of getting stuck here, or getting looney, or getting confused because of this food."

Esten plucked a ripe berry and popped it into his mouth, "It's fine. Whar'd you here such crazy tales?"

"It's in all the books, fairy food is not good for humans."

"Pshay! That ent true! It's fine!" Esten plucked another berry and held it up to her. "Here."

"Thanks, but no thanks. You aren't human, you wouldn't understand." Kassydie's stomach growled furiously at the fact that she was ignoring the sweet and alluring aroma of the strawberry right under her nose.

"Go on, it's just a strawberry, ent you got strawberries?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"You eaten one before?"

"Yes, but..."

"It's jus the same! Strawberries ent native to Underground. The King brought them here from Aboveground once, cuz he decided they're his favorite." Esten told her.

The Goblin King favored strawberries? Oh, nope, that led to thoughts Kassydie didn't want to think, nope, don't go there! Kassydie took the strawberry from Esten, who beamed as if she'd just done him the biggest favor in the world. She sniffed it, it smelled normal, looked normal...

"My you do move quickly." Came a voice.

"Sharrick!" chirped Sharrick.

Startled Kassydie dropped the strawberry with a small shriek and looked up to see Sange and Sharrick. She ran over to them and hugged and kissed them both in a frenzy so mixed she couldn't tell who got kissed or where and she didn't care!

"Sange! Sharrick!" Kassydie nuzzled the little Salamander she'd grown so fond of. "What are you doing here?"

Sange chuckled fondly, "Well, you ran out before my mother could feed you, though I doubt you could have consumed that rubbish. She thinks she can cook, but she's worse at it than goblin women. So, I went with Sharrick and brought you some food. Who's the dryad?"

Kassydie smiled and cuddled the warm Sharrick to her, "That's Esten, he's fifty."

"Heylo, kelpie man." Esten said a little stiffly.

"Don't worry about Sange, Esten," Kassydie reassured him, "He's my friend. He's saved me, I trust him. He's not so bad after awhile. Whaddja bring?"

Sange cocked an eyebrow but fell into step with her, he offered her a wooden box. "I thought you'd like that."

Kassydie hefted Sharrick over one shoulder so she could take the box and look inside, she ignored the untrusting looks Esten shot at Sange and the quizzical stares Sange returned.

Inside the box was filled with rice and seaweed wraps of carrots, chestnut, cucumbers, and avocado. There was a radish cake on top and a little fork to eat it with.

"It's a bento!" Kassydie chuckled, "Thanks Sange, where'd you get it?"

Sange slid his eyes over Kassydie as if it wasn't all that important where he'd gotten it, "Aboveground. That damned King isn't the only one who can get there."

"You didn't steal it?" Kassydie asked warily.

Sange did his trademark glare, "You take me for a common thief? Just eat!"

Kassydie giggled and took the fork, eating the cake first, "Thank you. I owe you again."

"You're wracking up quite a debt, however are you going to pay it?"

"Wot debt?" Esten asked curiously.

Kassydie harrumphed between a bite of wrap, she jabbed her fork into another and let Sharrick eat it. "I'll need a receipt by the time I get out of this maze."

"I let her in, saved her life, took her to get clothes, and brought her nourishment." Sange listed, more to remind Kassydie than to inform Esten.

Kassydie shrugged, "I'll find a way to repay you." She promised.

"Yew got indebted to a kelpie? Are you a mad woman, madam missy Kassydie?" Esten's eyes looked as if they'd pop out of his tiny green skull. Kassydie wondered for a moment if he bled tree sap.

"He's a nice kelpie!" Kassydie defended indignantly before scooping the cold rice onto the fork.

"You're a fool to think that there's sucha thing as a _nice_ kelpie." Esten glared mistrustingly at Sange.

"You don't have to trust him, Esten, I trust him though."

Sange rolled his eyes, "A shrimp let dryad is no concern of mine. You make the oddest acquaintances, Kassydie."

Esten made an angry noise that sounded like wind sweeping through the leaves of trees.

"Be sweet!" Kassydie commanded, she tapped the lid snuggly onto the box and put the box in the big pocket of her cloak, opposite to the one she had Grandma's book in. She filled her arms with Sharrick who made a happy noise like embers crackling their warmth. Kassydie would calling purrckling. She giggled.

"You're not sane," Sange shook his head at her.

"I can't help it, Sharrick's purrckling is making me laugh." Kassydie said happily.

Sange arched his eyebrow and gave her a worried look. Even Esten looked wary. This was when it seemed the two came to a truce. The obvious insanity of the human they'd decided to help bonding them together stronger than any friendship could. Or maybe Kassydie was being a little overly dramatic.

Sange put his hand on her shoulder and steered Kassydie into an opposite turn from the one she was trying to make. "A small lesson. See that?" He pointed to some little gouges in the stones Kassydie had dismissed as weathering.

"Yeah?"

"That sort of mark means boggarts. And boggarts and nasty creatures, I can guarantee that wherever a boggart is nesting, is going to be opposite of the castle. That King won't allow them near the goblins." Sange ended the lesson by removing his hand.

"Really, why not?"

"Cuzz boggarts and goblins argue too much." Esten clarified.

"So why do dryads hate kelpies?" Kassydie asked, wanting to milk as much information she could out of the combined informative mood of Sange and Esten.

"That's a terrible generalization, Kassydie." Sange told her.

"It ent all dryads, but kelpies jes cant be trusted!" Esten glared at Sange again, "They mislead people, they're good liars! And they always take on the form of their prey! Look at him! What's he look like?"

"A guy." Kassydie looked at Sange, wondering where Esten was going. Sange only rolled his eyes and glared straight ahead.

"He looks human." Esten clarified. "An you're human! You can't trust him if he's after you!"

Kassydie scrutinized Sange, "Sange, are you going to lead me into a terrible body of water and drown me?"

Sange looked at her bewildered for a moment before he got it, he smirked, "I would, if you weren't too much trouble to bother. My poor father, you bruised him."

"Well, he deserved it." Kassydie took a random turn.

"Wot are you doin?" Esten finally asked, picking up that she was randomly walking around.

"Trying to get out."

"But you're just meandering around." Sange reminded her.

"It works, trust me." Kassydie decided on another turn and the end of this particular labyrinth was in sight, but when the got to where it was supposed to be, it was a dead end. "Wha?"

"This is the hardest one as far as walking through it comes." Sange told her. "If you don't take the right sequence, when you get to the exit, it'll be gone."

Kassydie sucked in a sharp breath and Sharrick made a noise that sounded like a fire being extinguished rapidly. If she didn't do this right, she'd never get out!

"Oh, just kill me now!" Kassydie groaned.

"Don't say thaht!" Esten snapped at her, "He'll actyullee do et!"

"Oh, Sange wouldn't hurt me!" Kassydie chuckled and rubbed Esten's hair. "He's in love with me."

"Don't decide things on your own," Sange said bluntly, not even glancing at her to make sure she'd heard him.

"Kelpies can't love!" Esten spat in Sange's direction.

"Esten!" Kassydie pinched him, "No! Don't do that! It's racist!"

Esten grumbled a few words more but ceased all hateful activity towards the kelpie. "I know how to get through this," He added.

"You do?" Kassydie gasped, excitement lighting up in her eyes. "Wonderful! Please, show me?"

"Mmkay, but you'll owe me." Esten looked at her to make sure she understood.

Kassydie nodded, "Yes, yes, okay!"

Esten shrugged, "Follow me."

Sange begrudgingly followed Kassydie, "I don't trust him."

Esten's reply was to stick his tongue out at Sange and Kassydie's response was to pinch Sange for being rude. Sharrick did that crackling purr thing and went along for the ride.

*^*%*^*

"Jarth!" Jamie's tiny plea came from her crib.

Jareth popped into the room, wondering what it was the baby had summoned him for. "Hello, Jamie." He cooed and lifted her from the crib. Jamie nuzzled into the powerful king.

"Sha mama?" Jamie asked, wanting to know if Jareth knew where her mother was.

"You mean Miranda?"

Jamie looked at him blankly, she didn't yet know her mother's name.

Jareth sighed, he didn't like Miranda at all. Not a bit. But he didn't know what to tell Jamie. He'd hate for her to be upset. "Your mother went to work." He decided.

Jamie cuddled into him, chewing lightly on the lapel of his leather-riding jacket. She seemed satisfied with the answer. He'd have to make sure she forgot about her mother. However, he didn't want to force her to forget, with an enchanted fruit.

"Are you hungry?" Jareth guessed. It was the only reason he could imagine the baby would chew on his clothes. Unless she was bored. He could sing to her. He liked singing. And dancing. He liked them both very much.

Jamie nodded, "Banana an peshies, an srumbaries."

Jareth carried her through a couple of hallways while he deciphered this toddler language. "Banana, that one was easy, pesh pesh pesh...peaches? That must be it. Srumbaries...well...it sounds like strawberries, is it strawberries?"

Jamie nodded, "Srumbaries," She repeated.

"And that's what you want? Fruit? No candy? My you're a strange child."

Jamie did not in fact know what candy was. Her family had unanimously decided that she would remember her first candy bar. Instead, they put honey in her warmed milk so she'd have sweets that were better for her critical developing years. And she was definitely a strong and healthy baby.

Jareth went straight into his grand kitchen, where a great deal of goblins made very large messes and never ever cleaned up. Jareth turned right back out. Jamie was healthy now, but if she ate from that kitchen, well, she wouldn't be.

Leaving the question of, what did the Goblin King eat if not the food his subjects prepared? Well that was simple, he always dined in Aboveground. So be it. He and Jamie would go for dinner Aboveground. He wondered what the toddler's dexterous skills were when it concerned a fork or spoon?

Well, they'd find out. "Where shall we eat, Jamie? Paris? London? Tokyo?"

Jamie had no idea what he was talking about but answered, "Prees."

And that was where they went. As for how they got there, well, it took no more than a small surge of power and a bit of concentration. Nothing too noteworthy really. Traveling to Aboveground was easy for Sidhe, they spent much of their time amongst humans. Jareth strolled with Jamie in his arms. When he'd left Underground, he'd taken on a more human guise. He'd shortened his wild hair and his clothes were a simple black V-neck and black slacks, he hadn't needed to, but Jamie was now wearing a fluffy yellow dress and a white beret. A little amusement. The colors matched perfectly to the baby's dark brown curls and wide green eyes. Jareth and Jamie strolled into a rather small cafe, uncrowded, a place that had regulars.

"L'accueil, monsieur." The kind old cook welcomed them in.

"Good day," Jareth greeted in English, though his French was superb. He wanted Jamie to be able to understand the conversation.

"Shalut." Jamie greeted, shyly but brightly.

Jareth looked at the baby with a tiny look of wonder. "Un moment." He said to the cook and set Jamie on a table while he took a chair in front of her. "Where did you learn French? You can hardly speak English yet."

"Kashry esene me." Jamie replied in her giggling French.

"Kassydie taught you French?" She must speak to Jamie in both languages. Jareth only smiled and shook his head slightly. Jamie was the most fascinating baby he'd ever kidnapped. He sauntered to the counter and placed his orders with the head cook, in French. Jareth returned to his date for the meal and played patty cake with Jamie until the food arrived. Jareth positioned Jamie onto his lap and watched as she ate the fresh baked strawberry bread slathered in honey and peach jam. He had ordered a parfait but he didn't really feel like eating. He amused himself with watching as Jamie inexplicably covered herself with her meal. It was a magic of its own kind, Jamie looked like she had far more food on her than what had been on the plate!

"Now how did you manage that?" Jareth said, attempting to clean her up with the fourth handkerchief that night.

Jamie giggled. She had finished her meal, but instead of being sleepy, she was feeling rather playful.

So, Jareth paid the tab and so ended their little excursion. He'd take Jamie back to Underground so she could play with the goblins. He'd spent nearly an hour here, how was Kassydie doing in the labyrinth? She already seemed to trust his advisor whole-heartedly. Jareth felt a stab of...something...anger maybe. Anger at her nativity. How could she trust dangerous strangers so easily yet treat him with such hostility and wariness? It made no sense!

Jareth placed Jamie in the midst of his goblin court, in the pit in the middle of the room, plush with pillows and blankets, a sort of play pin. Jareth sank into the throne in his naturally provocative position and summoned a crystal out of the very air.

"What?" He cried in astonishment.

*^*%*^*

"That certainly took long enough!" Kassydie complained. "We're still so far from the castle and we've only just made it out of that awful maze!"

"Sharrick!" Sharrick grumbled at her. Something Kassydie took as, stop complaining.

"Why are you complaining?" Sange asked, bewildered.

"Ya know, people neva make it outta thaht place in less than an hour! It takes em days if the eva get it at all!" Esten shook his head at Kassydie, unable to comprehend why she was complaining. It seemed that the minute she asked her grandmother, or the sky, or the rocks, or whoever she was talking to, she'd figured out the correct sequence of the maze. Of course, now they were in a different, but similar, section.

"I don't have time for such things!" Kassydie groaned. "My sixth hour is almost up! Which means that in about fifteen minutes I'll only have seven hours to solve the labyrinth or Jareth will keep Jamie forever! Oh! I hope she's giving him a hard time!"

Sange shook his head, unable to really say anything in this situation.

"Keep ya voice down wumman! You dunno wot could be in this section!"

Almost on cue, a loud roar erupted from the depths of the maze.

Kassydie shook her head. The last maze had been a blessed reprieve from life threatening dangers. It seemed she'd have to run again. When she got out of here, she'd only wear running shoes for the rest of her life! The roar came again, so close that it made Kassydie yelp and jump an inch closer to Sange.

"What is that?" She whispered as they crept farther into the maze.

"It's most likely a minotaur." Sange whispered back, rather more nonchalantly that Kassydie thought he should have.

"You're so kidding." Kassydie hoped.

The roar burst forth again.

"He ent jokin, madam miss." Esten assured her warily.

_Well hell!_

**OMG CLIFFY! Cliffies suck! I'm receiving lots of greatly appreciated comments! Sadly, this didn't even reach 5k words... 10k words is just hard! Don't forget to thank Nikxter! You know, reviews make me write more. *winkwinknudgenudgehinthint***


	9. 7th Hour

**And with new found inspiration I think I'll add a bit of horror into this chapter! I am also determined to make you all love Kassydie more than Jamie, in a good way. I said this was a Jareth/OC, and I didn't mean Jamie was the OC... Disturbing in't it? An-y way! What is this new inspiration you ask? Did something horryfying happen to me? Did I go through a traumatic relationship where I was beat every day using my face as a buffer against his fist because he loves me? No! I read a book. A certain book! I might even tell you what it's called. Gah, you don't care! You just want the story! **_selfish...greedy...nyehyeh..._

Kassydie backed up a couple more steps. A minotaur? In a labyrinth? Who'd have thunk it! Thought it? "Does that make me Theseus, and Sange is Ariadne, and then Sharrick is the yarn and Esten...Esten, would you let me use you to bludgeon a minotaur?"

"Wot? No!"

Kassydie laughed nervously, "Someone else has to be the sword."

"What are you talking about?" Sange growled half under his breath.

"Minotaur, labyrinth, you don't read Greek mythology," Kassydie was looking around for some way to escape the menacing growling noises that seemed to be coming from just around the corner. The bland puzzle rock walls offered no assistance, neither did the dead plants scattered at their bases. The rocks didn't seem to eager to help. Kassydie concentrated, was there another turn they could take, to avoid the minotaur? It was possible, things weren't always what they seemed. The rock walls around them seemed to shake with the growling. Kassydie suppressed a yelp and concentrated further. Then again, if things weren't always as they seemed, it was more likely that the minotaur was good or something. Or that the path to the castle beyond the goblin city lay in the path the minotaur blocked. That one seemed more likely. Leading back to the epitaph on her grandmother's gravestone. Kassydie couldn't trust what _seemed. _So what could she rely on? What could she do so that they would be led in the right direction. Agh, this was so much easier when it was only her own selfish existence she had to worry about, stupid decisions could effect only her, and, well, Jamie. But there had to be some way to make a decision free of the rules of the labyrinth. When choosing a direction, Kassydie knew only one surefire way to do it.

Kassydie grabbed up a stick and stuck it in the middle of the way. Esten and Sange looked at her quizickly but said nothing. Kassydie balanced the stick in the middle, then released her finger. Immediately the stick fell, pointing in the direction of the minotaur.

"Of course," Kassydie blew at her bangs and took a bold step toward the minotaur, made slightly less bold by her cuddling of Sharrick as if the six legged creature were a tiny kitten.

"What are you doing?" Sange hissed.

"You're gonna git yerself killed goin' thaht way!" Esten grabbed at Kassydie's shirt to pull her back but she hopped a couple of steps forward out of his reach.

"Trust me," Kassydie smiled reassuringly, "If I get us killed you can, er, I dunno, force me to haunt a day care center or something."

"You are the least reassuring person I know." Sange decided.

"You cahn't go thaht way!" Esten insisted.

"It's okay, just stick around the back and all you have to do is out run us." Kassydie informed him, and without further delay she forged on toward the menacing sounds that would probably eat them. Kassydie inched closer to the corner, adrenaline and fear pumping into her veins. She could die, she'd almost died already, she could really die. This thing could kill her, and why? Because she'd let a stick decide her fate, that's why. Was she really that stupid? Kassydie suppressed a groan and fought a sickness rooted in fear and nerves. She slowly peeked just barely around the corner.

What she saw made her wish she had never read a fairy tale.

The beast was huge, at a glance, it seemed to be a red brown bull suspended on red brown human legs. But if you really looked at it, the brown was blood, crusted and dried seemingly into the beast's very skin. The red was fresh, slimy, blood. The creature was getting closer to them, his white eyes seemed to glow among the dismal stones, human feet and human arms swinging ever nearer. The smell of rot and excrement burned Kassydie's nose. She looked into those eyes and was horrified to find their true nature. They weren't eyes at all, more like orbs of dried up skin, tiny flakes trickled down whenever the monster blinked. And yet they still exuded a powerful hostility and hate. The horns of the beast were cracked and splintered right down into the base of his head, causing quite a lot of obvious irritation and pain as the bones split right into the flesh and skull. The beast snorted, blood seeping in between the slices of flesh in his eyes. It opened its gore covered maw and let out a ghastly noise, the sound of bones splitting within skin, a wet and gutteral noise. The beast took a laborous step towards them, reproductive organs dangling comicly, the body seemed lithe and strong, far too strong to be walking like that.

Kassydie began to think she'd made a bad decision. But, he didn't seem to have any weapons, and he was definately male, so a swift kick to that general area would give him pause, at least enough for them to run. His horns made it seem like he was off balance, but that could be a ploy. Kassydie weighed her chances of winning a fight against this guy, probably not, almost definately not. She slid back along the wall, out of sight, the whole thing had lasted maybe a second. She held up her arm to keep Sange or Esten from looking and stroked Sharrick. She had her plan. Incapacitate the minotaur. How would she carry it out? She didn't have any weapon but a book and some dead shrubs.

Sharrick hiccuped a plume of smoke. Kassydie almost slapped herself for being so stupid. Sharrick was practically a flamethrower.

"Sharrick," Kassydie whispered softly, "Are you up to some flame throwing?"

"Sharrick," Sharrick purred in confirmation, that's what Salamanders did after all.

"Sweet, as soon as you see the minotaur, roast him." Kassydie held Sharrick in her arms and jumped out directly into the minotaurs path. "Go, Sharrick!"

"Kassydie no!" Sange growled jumping out after her.

Esten grabbed her skirt and started trying to pull the crazy woman back to safety. "No! We cahn go bahck!"

Too late, Sharrick trembled and steadied herself with her six little legs against Kassydie's arms and blew, like a tiny dragon, a swirl of hot flames directly at the minotaur. The fire singed at his fur and lit the devilish beast on fire. The thing howled with pain and anger and charged at them. Kassydie hadn't thought past the flame thrower idea.

A minotaur came from behind Kassydie, a much cleaner and nicer looking one, with long, shaggy black hair, and tackled the beast to the ground. Sharrick stopped breathing her flames when Sange attacked the minotaur. Kassydie watched Sange wrestle, minotaur against minotaur, for a second or two, and then moved into swift action. When she had an opening, she kicked the filthy minotaur as hard as she could in the chest, successfully knocking all of the air out of the beast's lungs. She shoved at Sange who moved into action and grabbed Esten's arm, propelling him forward. Sharrick was running alongside Sange, surprisingly fast, though she did have six legs so... Kassydie stepped about three feet away from the minotaur and studied it for a second. It spoke to her in a low and gutteral voice filled with hatred and cruelty. Kassydie's eyes widened, and she ran after Sange and Esten and Sharrick.

They had stopped for her then simultaneously, Esten and Sange grabbed both of her arms in firm, steel like grasps and pulled her along between them. Kassydie fought against the pull that was making her lose her balance, she noticed Sange looked human again and wondered vaguely about his true form. Didn't kelpies look kinda like horses? Why were they pulling her? Kassydie glanced up at Sange then quickly away, she ventured a look at Esten, same effect. They were both totally pissed off. Kassydie finally got her feet in order and ran as fast as she could, they were so much stronger than she was, so much faster. Hell, even little Sharrick was faster than she was. Too bad she didn't have the athletic prowess of Konata Izumi. Finally they allowed Kassydie to stop but only after dragging her as she fell became detrimental to their progress. Kassydie leaned heavily against the wall, so out of breath it stung.

"Are you mad at me?" She panted to her companions.

"Cahtch yer breath first." Esten instucted hotly.

"Don't speak to me right now, Kassydie." Sange growled, not looking at her.

At least Sharrick still loved her. The Salamander was twining comfortingly around her legs, her long, slender body slinking around her like a cat. Kassydie took a few deep breaths, calming her lungs, and picked up Sharrick. Her legs were sore from all this working out, her body wasn't used to it. She was in pain, she was stressed out, she didn't know if Jamie had gotten her medicine or not, and Esten and Sange weren't helping!

Kassydie straightened up, "Okay, _what_?"

"Don't speak to me!" Sange growled again.

But Esten had no problem discussing the problem, "Do you evehn know wot you did?"

"No! That's why I'm asking!" Kassydie shouted in exasperation.

"Thaht thing cud've killed ya! Thaht was a blood minotaur! Thah worst of em! Ya didn' hahv tah go chargin through thar!" The boy glared at her with his gold grey eyes. "Yer insane! Insane and careless!"

Kassydie didn't like being scolded by a little boy, even if he was fifty. She frowned, "I went with my instincts. It seems to be the trick of going through this labyrinth. And Sharrick kept him off."

"No, thaht kelpie kept im off! The salamander's fire jes made it mad! It has our scent naow. It'll be after us!"

"No it won't." Kassydie reassured him gently.

"Ya! It will! Thaht thing! It's a blood thirsteh beast! It ain't got nuttn else ta do but go aftah prey, tear it ta shreds, an devour et! They hate! An hate an hate! An nuthfin alse! An et'll be aftah you! Cuz yer tha one wot burnt et!" Esten screamed and started stomping off like a little kid throwing a tantrum. Sange followed him, fuming silently. Kassydie had no choice but to follow with Sharrick.

Kassydie knew the minotaur wouldn't be after her, it was implied in what he'd told her. She shuddered at the thought of that thing talking. She didn't want to think about it ever again. Sange still hadn't said much to her. She couldn't stand it. What was wrong with him? Finally, she grabbed the hem of his shirt, forcing him to turn and look at her.

"Esten told me what was up with him. What the hell is up with you?" Kassydie demanded.

"I don't think I can even put that into words." Sange growled.

Kassydie's blue eyes flashed with anger, "It concerns me! So you'll tell me! You aren't even trying to communicat and I deserve to know why you're so mad at me!"

Sange's eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed, "That thing was going to kill you."

"Everthing here is trying to kill me!"

"You don't understand! That thing would have done, so many horrible things." His face lapsed from anger to despair, "What are an animals basic instincts?"

"To procreate and eat."

Sange nodded, "That's all that thing has, magnified times ten. These," Sange moved as if to touch her chest and Kassydie backed away and held her hand up in front of his, "show that you are a woman that can procreate. Do you understand now? It would kill you, after worse torture than you can imagine!"

He didn't raise his voice, but his words got more urgent. Begging her to understand.

Kassydie swallowed as the meaning sunk in. It wouldn't have just killed her, it would have raped her until she became pregnant with its monstrous seed and who knows what else before she was finally allowed to die. One of many fates worse than death and she had just jumped right in front of it. Sange and Esten had been worried about her.

"I'm sorry." Kassydie said sincerely.

Sange reached up and ruffled her hair, he put his hand behind her neck and pushed her forward so they were walking again, following Esten. "Be careful, that's all."

"I'll try," Kassydie promised. Sharrick took a turn different from Esten. "Sharrick! Where are you going?" Kassydie followed Sharrick.

"Leave her, she's wild anyway!" Sange called after her.

"No, I'm gonna follow her." Kassydie argued and did just that.

Esten had noticed a slight depletion in the amount of people he had following him and turned to look quizzically at Sange. Sange shrugged and started following Kassydie. Esten ran to walk up beside her.

"Wai arr you goin' this wae?" He asked, looking up at Kassydie.

"Why were you going that way?" She countered.

Esten looked taken aback and was a bit frazzled. "I...dunnow. Just wahs."

"Well, let's try following Sharrick for a bit then. Stupid maze. Wonder if Grandma ever had to go through so many twists and turns, it's boring."

"It's better than watching you throw yourself at minotaurs."

"Sange, I said I was sorry!"

Sange smirked at her.

Kassydie rolled her eyes, "Come on, saucy fellows." And she continued through the winding maze after Sharrick.

*^*%*^*

Jareth watched the sleeping baby. It was time for her medicine again. He wondered if he should wake her up for it, though. Surely she could sleep. But, he didn't know what kind of disease Jamie had. Best not to risk it. Besides, Kassydie would probably wring his neck if he didn't administer the medication. Jareth waved his hand, silently summoning a chair from across the room. He lowered himself into the chair and leaned over the crib. He traced a gloved finger underneath Jamie's chin, trying to cajole the child into waking. Jamie opened her big emerald eyes sleepily, she stretched her tiny little ivory arms and opened her rosy lips to yawn.

"Time for your medicine, Jamie." Jareth shook the bottle gently back and forth.

Jamie shuffled up into a sitting position and immediately opened her mouth wide.

Jareth chuckled and squirted the medication into her mouth. Jamie made a face but swollowed it, like an obediant child.

Jareth patted her dark brown curls affectionately, "I wonder what illness you have? You seem perfectly fine to me."

Jamie nodded as if that should be obvious. Jareth watched the candle light flicker in the child's eyes. Sarah's eyes. If her hair were straight, and a couple of shades lighter, Jamie would bear a near twin-like resemblence to Sarah, his only beloved.

"You look like Sarah." Jareth informed Jamie.

"Gamma?" Jamie asked.

Jareth shook his head gently, "Her name was Sarah."

Jamie started crying, "Gamma!"

Jareth's eyes widened, what had happened? He picked her up and tried to bounce her into silence on his hip. "No, no, no, don't cry. Hush, what is it?"

"Gamma died!" Jamie wailed.

Jareth hugged her close, "I know, Jamie. But it's going to be fine."

Jamie sniffled, "I luvved, Gamma."

"I did, too." Jareth told her.

Jamie looked baffled, "Jarth no know Gamma."

"I did know her, before she was a grandmother."

Jamie shook her head, "Jarth no know Gamma then."

Jareth was completely befuddled by this reasoning. "Of course I did, Jamie."

Jamie shook her head but said no more. Jareth scowled, "What do you mean by that, Jamie?"

"Gamma diffent." She explained as if Jareth were the child. She yawned again, the crying had apparently exhausted her.

Jareth set Jamie back in the crib and smoothed back her dark brown curls. "You're the most complicated baby I've ever known." He shook his head.

Jamie only giggled and went to sleep, as if she were in on a joke that Jareth could never hope to understand. And maybe she was.

His entire court had gone to sleep. Jareth, the Insomniac King. But how could he sleep with Kassydie in the labyrinth? He was so constantly aware of her presence. A presence he'd only been able to guess at before she'd said the words of power, before she'd said her wish.

Kassydie was strong, it was obvious that she was. Just being near her Jareth could sense something more underneath her many layers. A scent of mystery beneath the charismatic optimist. What was she hiding about herself? A trait deep within her that she'd hidden her whole life. It only sparked his interest. No, he didn't want Kassydie to defeat the labyrinth. He wanted Kassydie to defeat the labyrinth. He wanted to keep Jamie, he wanted Kassydie to prove herself worthy. He wanted Kassydie as far away from him as possible but he wanted to hold her close to him forever. Why was it like this with her? He'd known exactly what he wanted with Sarah. He had wanted her to prove herself worthy to be his queen.

Jareth sighed and pushed his golden hair away from his face angrily. His heart was a jumbled mess. His mind was foggy and blurred. The lines he'd set for himself, for everything, they were sketchy and unclear. He was king, he could have whatever he wanted, if only he knew what he wanted.

"Take it a step at a time," He cautioned himself as he walked into his study. He leaned against the window and gazed up at the ever shifting stars. His night sky. He looked across at his kingdom, the kingdom he'd chosen, seemingly lowly. King of the Goblins when he could have been King of Under Ground. Why had he chosen this? Because he didn't want to be the King of Under Ground. He wanted a fun loving and loyal court, not the rough and tumble court of charming faces hiding malicious intent. His kingdom, this was what he wanted. He juggled a crystal from hand to hand. He had wanted his kingdom of Goblins, he wanted it still. Another small step now. He wanted to juggle the crystal, he was juggling the crystal. Inch forward once more. He wanted to see Kassydie, and now, he saw...Kassydie.

He watched her throw herself directly into the path of a blood thirsty minotaur. Jareth jumped up from his seat and looked on in horror. Was she insane? The minotaur charged, only angered by the flames, the kelpie transformed to battle the minotaur and the three went on ahead, but Kassydie stayed behind. The minotaur had been thwarted but not defeated. The minotaur said something, Kassydie said something. Why did she stay? Had she no value for her own life?

"Get away from that!" Jareth demanded, half expecting her to listen to him. She seemed to have figured something out when she ran ahead. Jareth watched the minotaur for a moment, hoping it wouldn't chase after her. Dead skin flaked from its eyes and he blinked slowly...then died. What had happened? The battle hadn't been enough to kill the beast. Had Kassydie killed it? She hadn't even touched it! No what had happened?

The crystal disappeared, Jareth vanished from his chambers...

The minotaur was a stinking thing. Jareth nudged it with his black leather boot. It was dead, looking more foul than ever, already decaying as it had lived, death did the beast no justice. Other than a few burns, minor gashes, and many bruises, the minotaur's body was fine. Why had it died? It wasn't old, or sick. The eyes had still been flaking, it was at a healthy age. It was a minotaur in peak condition, yet it had just up and died.

"What did Kassydie say to you?" Jareth growled at the carcass. He wanted to know, and only one person remained who could tell him. Kassydie. "Well, I'll just have to ask Kassydie then."

*^*%*^*

"Sharrick, you're amazing!" Kassydie gasped. They had made it through that particular part of the maze in no time.

"Fool, keep your voice down." Sange hissed.

Esten tugged on Kassydie's hand, "Cahn't be so loud. Thar arr banshies and wraiths in diis part a thah labyrinth."

"Wouldn't want to run into any pixies either," Sange told them.

"Pixies?" Kassydie said disbelieving. "As in, less than two inches tall in all the colors of the rainbow?"

"Yes, and, as in, they travel in swarms. You take too much for granted. Your fairy tale books aren't all that accurate." Sange rolled his eyes.

"They has shahp teefth." Esten nodded, "And teeny beety clahs. An they scrahtch and scrahtch an bite."

"Alright, alright," Kassydie whispered, "I get it. Pixies are bad."

They walked silently after Sharrick. Kassydie looked around, taking in the night time surroundings. They were traveling through a maze of trees and shadows. The trees were very like vines. The branches of these trees started at the base and webbed against the other trees, forming a thick and absolute barricade they wouldn't be able to cross without sharp weaponry and strong muscles. The vine like branches twisted into leaves the color of dried blood. The tops of the trees criss crossed over their heads in a macabre mockery of clasped skeletal hands. Small spines covered the leaves, like razors. Along the pale bone white branch vines were billions of sharp black barbs, reminding Kassydie of a cactus. She had stopped to inspect one of the barbs, instead of being smooth and sharp at the end the spines were jagged, like toothed knives.

The canopy of the trees inked out the stars and the strange moon, little light trickled through the bony fingers. If it weren't for Sharrick and the constant little flame she blew they wouldn't be able to see at all. At one point they had turned a corner and small squeals and shrieks and rustles met them. When Sharrick's light illuminated the source of the sounds Kassydie couldn't bear to look. The sight had made her ill. A strange looking rabbit had been caught in the nest of vines and barbs. The rabbit kicked and squealed, the vines moved over it, spines sinking into the flesh and peeling away skin, opening large gashes in the rabbit. The poor animals gut was sliced open, its intestines spilled over the useles flaps of flesh and the vines seemed to catch them, tangling them into the wicked branches, stringing them out of the flesh envelope. But the rabbit was still alive, howling and screeching with noises Kassydie had never imagined a creature could make. The rabbit wailed into the night as the vines snaked into the flesh, the spines began poking through the bunny's skin from the inside out, every kick to get away caused the barbs to tear jagged holes in its skin. Kassydie couldn't bear to watch the rest, to watch as all of its organs were extracted from its body and carried and disolved into all of the other branches, into the leaves. Leaves the color of dried blood, spines surrounding them like caked gore.

Kassydie gagged on the smell of fresh blood. Sange draped his long arm around her and pulled her away, she curled into him, eyes squeezed shut, trusting him to lead her away from the heinous actions. She suddenly felt claustrophobic amongst the carnivorous vines. There was hardly enough room for them to walk in pairs.

"Don't worry, they won't grab you unless you touch them, if you don't touch them they don't know you're there." Sange whispered into her hair, she could still smell the blood of the rabbit.

Soon, the walls on either side were so narrow that they had to walk in a single file line. Sharrick leading the way, Kassydie behind her, Esten behind Kassydie and Sange bringing up the rear. The vines were constantly shifting and twitching against eachother, tangling together in a deadly dance. Kassydie shivered and tightened her cloak around herself. Jamie was in the middle of all this. All that she had gone through alright and Jamie was dead center in the middle of it! Kassydie would never forgive herself for that, for wishing Jamie away. Jamie, who looked so much like the pictures of Grandma when she was young. Jareth had her in his castle. But surely he would keep her safe. Grandma had said that Toby had been rather happy with his time there. In fact, she said great uncle Toby's first words had been Goblin Babe and he often hummed an interesting tune, well, until it faded into the memories of babyhood. Jareth would keep Jamie safe, surely. He was kind, well, to babies anyway. Well, he was kind to her too, when he'd been afraid she'd had a concussion. And when he'd warned her about the dangers. He didn't have to do those things. He was kind, selfish, distant. Well, that was what she had gathered from their brief meetings.

Sharrick stopped.

"What is it?" Kassydie looked up and saw that the road split four ways. "Of course."

"We'll just take them one at a time," Sange said.

Kassydie shook her head, "I don't have time for that. We'll split up, go as far as we can until we hit a dead end then come back to here, wait by your path until there are three then take the fourth path."

"How weel we know whair thes es agin?" Esten asked, knowing it would be almost impossible to tell where they had split up.

Kassydie thought for a moment, then took off her cloak and laid it across the ground. "That's the best I've got."

Sange walked to the front of them in the clearing so he could face Kassydie, as if he could prevent her from moving on. "We are not splitting up. It's too dangerous for you to be alone in here!"

Kassydie narrowed her eyes, "I can't afford to lose time being cautious, Sange. My baby sister is in the middle of all this crap and I've only got six hours and fourteen minutes left to take her back!"

Sange grabbed her arms and leaned forward a bit to look at her at eye level. "You're too reckless. Please, don't."

Kassydie hugged him, then slipped underneath his arm to get past him, she gave his ponytail a tug, she knelt down to grab her book from the pocket of her cloak, then turned to Sange, "You remind me of Keiichirou." She winked, "Pick your poison," She gestured to the paths and walked into the second one from the left. "See you all soon!"

Kassydie didn't look back, if she had she'd have seen a very distraught Sharrick, an angry but sad looking Sange and a worried Esten, each going off to find their own path's success. Kassydie felt naked without her cloak. The powder blue fabric that made the wispy dress seemed to almost glow in the faint starlight, she felt like everything in the labyrinth could see her. She gripped the book in her hands and looked around at the threatening vines. Better to focus on the dress. It was actually a rather amazing dress. The sleeves looked like they were about to fall completely off of her shoulders, but it didn't feel like it, she didn't feel the need to struggle over the low cut of the neckline to keep it from falling completely away. But it was too light, it felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all, she missed the weight of her cloak.

It was so quiet, the trees above laced together so completely it was like the vines had swallowed her and taken her away from the rest of the world. The silence clawed at her throat and twisted around her ankles. It was getting harder to breath. She was starting to hyperventilate.

"Beautiful dreamer," She sang, "Wake unto me," The silence shrunk from the high alto of her voice, "Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee." Her voice filled the empty void of quiet around her, "Sounds of the-" She gasped. There had been a rustling, a footstep. She looked around, clutching her book for comfort.

"You sing better than the sirens." Complimented a husky voice to her left.

Kassydie turned to see Jareth, dressed bizarrly as usual, decked out in a thick cape, black riding pants, hard looking leather boots and a red shirt topped with a black vest. His eyes sparkled with amusement, one hand on his hip, the other dangling by his side, riding crop held loosely in his hand.

Kassydie took no more than a moment to straighten out her bewildered brain, "Why do you carry that around? What do you ride?" She nodded towards the riding crop.

Jareth lifted it up a bit, looked at it with a slight frown as if he didn't know the answer himself. "It's for the goblins." He decided.

"You beat your goblins?" Kassydie looked at him in mock horror, trying to keep the smile from tugging at her lips.

"Of course not, what kind of King would I be?" Jareth looked offended, "I use it to push them out of my way."

This was where that conversation ended. There wasn't really anything anyone could say to something like that. Kassydie shuffled her feet nervously, she knew she should leave, she didn't trust him, she figured this was a ploy to use up all her time so she didn't get to Jamie. But, she didn't want to leave. Jareth had such a powerful presence, he was strong, seductive, really tall... She hated being alone with these carnivorous vines, she noticed that the vines shied away from their master. Could she get him to follow her through the labyrinth? At least this part? A coy thought laced the edges of her mind. She bet she could.

"Can I see that?" Kassydie asked, pointing to the riding crop.

"No," Jareth pulled the crop stubbornly towards him, like a child protecting their favorite toy.

"So? What brings you here?" Kassydie asked, if she could find out what he wanted from her, she could use it to get him to accompany her in the labyrinth.

"Ah, now we get to the point of things." Jareth donned a predatory look and began walking towards her, "The blood minotaur, what did it say to you?"

Kassydie shrugged, turned her back on him, and began slowly walking away, as if she were pacing. Jareth's long strides quickly brought him to her and she picked up the pace a bit.

"It was scary," She admitted distantly. "That thing. It smelled like dead bodies and it felt like hatred."

Jareth didn't say anything, only looked at her, as if he were disecting everything she said, every move she made, every expression, and stowing it away in his memory.

"I knew it wouldn't stay down long, but it's voice... I-it was... It was so full of darkness and evil that I thought I might scream until my lungs collapsed..." When had she started confiding all of this in him? She looked up at him, as if for confirmation. Confirmation that he heard her, that he understood.

His eyes showed that he did. They showed understanding of what it had been like for her, they showed compassion for what she had gone through, they showed pain for- For what?

"What did he say to you?" Jareth coaxed in a low voice.

Kassydie walked a couple of steps in silence. "He-He, uh...I don't have to tell you." Kassydie shook her head so that her long dark hair swirled around her, hitting lightly against Jareth's arm.

Jareth sighed in annoyance, "True, you don't have to tell me. But there can be consequences if you don't."

Kassydie looked up at him, wary, preparing herself, "What kinds of consequences? You can't do anything to me other than change the labyrinth, which you've already promised that you wouldn't interfere with what happens in the labyrinth, well, at least to me. Everything has to stay as is."

Jareth masked himself thouroughly, "I could forget to give Jamie her medicine. I could pass a law that immediately requries all kelpies in the area to evacuate. I could report that little solitary dryad to other authorities and have him punished for living on ruled land."

"Okay, okay, you're scary." Kassydie folded, putting her hands up to stop him. She dropped her hands. "Nothing good ever comes out of talking to you."

His expression was stone, "What did the minotaur say to you."

"He said that he would hunt me until he died, that he would get up and stalk me through the labyrinth and when I was at my destination he would...uh...that he would...t-take me and..." Kassydie bit her lip and looked down at the book in her hands. If she said anything else she'd start bawling like Chihiro after she saw her parents turned into pigs.

The scent of leather, a cold glove brushing against her cheek, pushing back her hair. She stopped walking and looked at Jareth confused.

"Wh-what was that, what did you do?" She lifted her hand to touch the path his hand had taken. Had he put a spell on her? Some kind of magic? What had he done?

"Your bangs have come undone from the clip, I was only pushing your hair back so I could see you. Honestly, why do you try to hide behind your hair?" Jareth frowned, he dissaproved.

Kassydie started walking with Jareth again. "I-I do not! That's why the clips are there!" She took the clip out and then reclipped her bangs to the side of her head. "See? There. Not hiding, out in the open. There."

Jareth chuckled, his eyes displaying his mirth clearly. Kassydie couldn't help a small smile.

"You've never smiled at me before." Jareth said, his eyes softening.

Kassydie laughed, "Why would I smile at you? You confuse me too much. Oh, and you kidnapped my baby sister."

"I did not!" Jareth protested.

Kassydie shook her head, "Yeah I know I know. I wished her away. I'm sure plenty of other children wish their siblings away and you never take them."

Jareth nodded, walking next to Kassydie as she took a turn but giving no hint as to whether or not it was the correct one, "Your voice has power in it. I think...the power I gave Sarah. I think some of it passed down to you. What did you say to the minotaur?"

All evidence of Kassydie's gaity from moments ago dissapeared, "What's your obsession with minotaurs?"

"I don't have an obsession with minotaurs I have an obsession with you."

The blase way that Jareth said it made Kassydie blush. "That's not something normal to say."

"What did you say to the minotaur?" He asked again, his patience with her obviously wearing thin.

"I told him he could take his sorry... er ...self to hell." Kassydie paraphrased.

"Oh? Can I have an exact quote of what you said?" Jareth asked with a slight smile.

"Why?" Kassydie groaned.

"You had no trouble saying it before."

Kassydie pouted but relented, "I said, 'Die and just take your sorry shriveled dick back to hell.'"

Jareth started laughing. He laughed for a couple of minutes while Kassydie walked, fuming and blushing next to him. "It wasn't that funny!"

"Oh yes it was." He said, still laughing, "You said that to a minotaur, while you were scared out of your mind, and right after he'd seriously threatened you with a fate worse than death."

"Well, I wasn't going to let _him_ know that!" Kassydie chuckled anyway. Here she was, laughing in the middle of serial killer plants with the man who'd kidnapped her sister. With the very, very attractive man who'd kidnapped her sister.

"Shall I tell you something?" Jareth asked, his laughter ended.

"Shoot." Kassydie urged.

"The minotaur died." He revealed.

Kassydie blinked for a moment. She let out a relieved sigh, "Holy Suzumiya, that's a relief. I thought for sure he'd come find me while I was in here and..uh...yeah...while he pushed me into the vines." She glared at the vines, "They murdered a bunny."

Jareth pressed his lips into a line, sensing that he probably shouldn't laugh about the rabbit. "He was a healthy minotaur you know, peak condition."

"Those orbs, you're stalking me?" Kassydie asked, sliding her deep blue eyes to look at him suspiciously.

Jareth licked his lips in contemplation, "Well, that's one way to put it."

"Um, no that's the only way to put it. You know, most guys just ask me out to dinner and a movie." Kassydie said.

"I'm not most guys."

"So you are trying to date me?"

"I didn't say that."

"It was implied." Kassydie's turn to smirk at him. Oh, that felt good. She finally got to smirk at the Smirking King. smirKing King. Heh.

"I'm not of your world, I have no way of knowing what it means to ask one out to dinner and a movie." Jareth said with a sneaky look in his eyes that implied that he had totally and completely grasped the concept of her modern slang.

"You've got the hots for me!" Kassydie teased.

"You're too young for me." Jareth jabbed back.

"Since I'm so attractive, you wouldn't mind giving me hints about where to go?" Kassydie stopped as the path split into two. She thought for a second.

"I'm not helping you to defeat me, Kassydie Monarch."

Kassydie went right, "You used both of my names, how did you know my name anyway?"

"I saw you at the gravestone, I could assume that Sarah's last name was the same as yours." Jareth looked at her with a devilish glint sparkling in his mixed eyes.

Kassydie narrowed her gaze, "You're trying to throw me off. That was a half truth, you didn't answer my question."

Jareth nodded and smiled, it was, he was splitting hairs. "I don't want to answer it."

"I'm assuming you're a stalker. Right, or left?" Kassydie asked.

"Left." Jareth said.

"I'm going right." Kassydie announced.

"Why?" Jareth smiled, his mirth evident.

"Because I don't trust you to lead me to the castle."

He shrugged, "You didn't say why you wanted to go either way."

Kassydie went right anyway. "I don't trust a thing you say."

"I've never lied to you." Jareth told her seriously.

"You've never actually told me the truth," Kassydie cried out in victory as she saw the end. "I almost don't care where it leads as long as that gets me out of here!" She ran forward.

"Don't run." Jareth demanded.

Kassydie slowed to a walk.

"Why did you listen?" Jareth asked surprised.

"Would you lead me purposefully into harm? You haven't so far. You've just let me get myself there." Kassydie shrugged and looked back at him for a moment. "And because I'll probably trip if I run."

Jareth chuckled, he already knew she had a habit of tripping.

"How is Jamie?" Kassydie asked suddenly. It had been gnawing at her, she hadn't wanted to ask, thinking that maybe if the Goblin King thought she didn't care all that much about the baby then he would lose interest in her, send her home...

Jareth's chuckling quieted to silence, "She's sleeping."

"Did you feed her?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"French cuisine. She's got no cuts or bruises, no traumatic events that will outlast her babyhood memories, she's been laughing most of the time." Jareth answered her next few questions to save time.

Kassydie stepped out of the maze and looked back into it, the vines closed over themselves. "What? No!" She ran back and inspected them, knowing she'd die if she touched them. "They closed!"

"Yes, the exit can only be passed through once every twenty four hours, you're quite lucky it wasn't closed." Jareth informed her quite a bit too late.

"No! Shit!" Kassydie looked from him to the vines. "Open them up, my friends are in there!"

"Are they your friends?"

"Yes, what are you talking about? Of course they are!"

"Why?"

Kassydie blinked, "Tell me how to open it, please?" She looked at the vines.

"Why are they your friends? Why do you trust them? You know them much less than you know me."

"That's a rather perfect reason to trust them, don't you think?" Kassydie laid down on the ground, looking for some way to get the roots gone. Shit, shit, shit.

"They could be worse than me. A kelpie, you're his primary prey you know. A dryad, tricksters to their very souls. A salamander, well, they're deadly, they'll burn you." Jareth just watched her.

"I trust them." Kassydie insisted. Maybe... She tore the wispy skirt of the dress to shorten the jagged hem just above her knees. She tore the skirt into two pieces.

"What are you doing?" Not that he minded the change in appearance. She'd had her legs hidden for most of the journey, save for one memorable drowning experience.

"Just watch and maybe you'll learn something." Kassydie flicked one piece over the vines, then the other on the other side. The vines pryed away from each other and strove to find what they hoped was nourishment. Kassydie flicked one side away and then the other, the vines tore the cloth from her hands and the vines tried to devour it but only became tangled in the fabric they couldn't digest. They couldn't crawl back into each other, the exit was open once again.

"How very clever," Jareth praised as he faded away.

Kassydie smiled, she hadn't expected the vines to be frozen, she had just hoped that the way would stay open again.

Kassydie waited by the vines for her friends, she saw them and cautioned them not to run to her.

Somewhere, a clock tolled eight times.

**Wheeeee! Sorry for the hiatus! I'm so damn lazy. . Please don't hit me! Well, the book I was reading was John Dies at the End in case you were curious. Also, two of my friends formed the horrifying question of whether Kassydie or **_**Jamie**_** would end up with Jareth! OpqO Obviously something had to be done! I wasn't intending that sort of love triangle! . Therefore, the flirting, coquetish scene with Jareth and Kassydie. As soon as I can I'll bring up 8th Hour! I'm determined to finish this over the summer!**


	10. 8th Hour

**I'm a terrible person! I'm sorry! I'm going to try really really really hard! Also, a Black Cat spoiler warning! Finish the series before you finish this chapter!**

It didn't take long to get across the meadow. And, surprisingly, nothing tried to kill Kassydie as she walked across it with Sange, Sharrick, and Esten. Of course, she supposed the object of the labyrinth wasn't to kill her... She hoped. There was a shallow pool of water on the floor of the new obstacle. The night sky zipped across the mirror-like water. The navy blue of the Underground sky made smooth stone that rose above them glow a cerulean blue.

Kassydie walked up to the wall to inspect it. Was it marble? Or some sort of fairy stone no longer present Aboveground?

"This place would be wonderful if it weren't trying to kill me," Kassydie whispered.

"Stop staring at the wall, I thought you were running out of time?" Sange chastised.

Kassydie nodded and picked up Sharrick, together they entered this new maze. What dangers did this one hold? Kassydie had a feeling her luck would run out soon. Unless she thought of something to stop it.

"What do you think I'm doing wrong?"

"Wot d'you mean?" Esten asked, "I thinks yer doin' fine."

"I'm not," Kassydie said, looking left and right. She chose right, because she's right handed, "It's already the eighth hour and the castle doesn't look that much closer."

"Things aren't always what they seem, remember?" Sange said encouragingly.

"Okay," Kassydie sighed. "Why do you guys just follow me?"

"Wot d'you mean by thaht?" Esten wondered, looking up at Kassydie with eyes made bright purple by the moonlight.

"I mean, you guys are just following me around and letting me decide your fates and whether or not we get totally lost or not." She looked at Esten, Sange, and Sharrick in turn. "You don't even have to follow me."

"Maybe we want to follow you." Sange said, "Besides, I'm the gate keeper, I can always find my way back to the gate."

"And I cahn always smell teh forest." Esten said.

"Oh, so you're never really lost?" Kassydie asked.

They shook their heads.

"Do you know the way to the castle?"

Esten shook his head, Sange nodded.

"What? Why haven't you told me how to get there?" Kassydie looked at Sange, disappointed and hurt and angry.

"I'm not allowed to," Sange snapped, anger flickering in his eyes, though it didn't seem directed at her. "You may be upset that I'm not showing you to the center but this is something you have to get out of on your own!"

Kassydie looked away, ashamed. He was right. She couldn't rely on others to solve her problems. She had to do this herself, and do it her own way.

"I think I've got it." Kassydie murmured to herself. "I can't solve this thing by just working through the mazes, there haven't been any puzzles to solve, just life threatening danger. So, Sange, where is the most dangerous place here?"

"The Black Mirror." Sange said, "It's what we use instead of the Bog now. A plant grows there that Sir Didymus discovered was edible. Actually, it's all over Underground. Just a weed but he found that when it is eaten, well, the bog's stench cannot be detected. It's a plant that looks dead even when it's alive, we call it Possum Weed."

"I always thought the bog was a stupid threat anyway." Kassydie said, "Obviously it wasn't threatening enough to keep Hoggle from helping Grandma. So, what's the Black Mirror?"

"Et's also called Pandora's Lake." Esten offered, as if giving another name for it would help.

"Sange? Pandora's Lake, what's it do?" Kassydie asked specifically.

"If you fall in, you have nightmares forever." Sange explained.

Kassydie sloshed through the water in silence for a few moments, "That's not so bad, nightmares are exciting."

Sange shook his head, "You stay in the lake, and have night mares forever. Everything you've wanted to forget, everything you wish you'd never done. That's what you dream about."

Kassydie frowned and pet Sharrick, "That would definitely hinder my progress. Where is it?"

"In the middle of the labyrinth." Sange said, he glanced at Esten who was trying to catch fire flies. Or were they even fire flies?

Kassydie's heart fell as she realized what that meant. "We haven't hit it at all yet! I'm not even half way through the labyrinth!" Kassydie started walking faster. Maybe there was some sort of pattern. There was always a pattern. People couldn't build anything without a pattern whether they knew it or not. What was Jareth's pattern? Well, constant threats of impending doom, and he liked to mess with her. But he only showed up when she was alone. Kassydie's heart fluttered and she blushed, ignoring it. Admit to the problem, so that you can move past it! Jareth is super hot and Kassydie was definitely attracted to him, especially with those pants, so little was left to the imagination.

_He's a hot guy, I'm a girl, of course I'm attracted to him._ Kassydie admitted in her head. She felt he was using this against her. Well, she'd have to find a way to use it against him. And she needed to do it fast. She'd trick him into getting her closer to his castle, hopefully even all the way.

The theory was perfect. Kassydie knew she wasn't exactly Mikuru, but she did possess a Haruhi Fujioka-like charm. She knew what she had to do, she had to find a reason to split up with her friends in a way that didn't look staged. _Another four way fork would be perfect._

Kassydie turned another corner with her friends and it wasn't long before she'd received just what she had wished for. _Lucky!_ She thought to herself.

"Blast!" She acted upset.

"Again, I say we just take one at a time." Sange suggested.

"I vote wif teh kelpie." Esten told her, not trusting the eerie blue walls around him.

Kassydie shrugged, "Don't worry, what we did last time worked didn't it? And it was shorter." Kassydie smiled reassuringly, "We'll all take one until we hit a dead end."

Sange started to shake his head. "It's not worth it."

Kassydie grabbed both of his hands and looked at him imploringly, "Sange, please? I'm begging you to do this."

Sange seemed to debate something and finally sighed as he relented, "Alright. We'll do it."

Kassydie smiled and turned to run into the nearest corridor.

*^*%*^*

Jareth paced angrily around his crystal. She was begging the kelpie? Begging him, as if he were a well trusted friend. How could she trust him? How dare he hold her hands! How dare he touch what belonged to his King! The gate keeper would pay dearly for this.

And then there went Kassydie, running off alone. Again. Would she never stop endangering her life? She knew the labyrinth was treacherous, that even the walls could not be trusted. And yet she was always separating herself from the group. Why? He would go to his kelpie, then make Kassydie an offer. As soon as he wished it he was leaning casually against the wall of a corner just as the kelpie made the turn. He reveled in the surprised blink and the small step backwards from the kelpie. Hoggle had been more fun, jumping out of his shoes every time Jareth appeared. Perhaps the kelpie had expected him.

The kelpie bowed stiffly at the waist. "My Lord?"

Jareth tapped his crop against the wall a few times then pushed away from it, glad that he was taller than the kelpie, even without the wild mane of hair, he walked very close to him.

"Hello gate keeper," He smiled cockily, "How have you been misleading, the woman?" The woman, Kassydie. He was the king, he needn't feign disinterest for his prize.

"I told her we were only half way through.." The kelpie admitted, knowing lying only made the punishment worse.

Jareth nodded, "And where are we? We are three fourths of the way to the castle at least!" He glared, uneven pupils making him look sinister, "You haven't tried to sway her path or turn her around at all! And how dare you touch her? You're worthless, you shouldn't even look at her! She will be my queen yet you act so casually!"

Emotions flickered in the kelpie's eyes when Jareth named her as his queen. Emotions that made Jareth extremely jealous. "My Lord, she can only be your queen if she defeats the labyrinth, and accepts you still, am I correct?"

Jareth narrowed his gaze, "Yes."

"Shouldn't I be helping her through, so she can be your queen?" The kelpie challenged.

Jareth slapped the insolent fool with his crop. "No. You are the gate keeper, your job is to keep her away from the castle until she loses hope! She has not lost hope. Not even close. You will lead her astray, and she will find out about your betrayal. Then, you will be thrown into Pandora Lake."

The kelpie clenched his hands to keep from touching the stinging wound from the crop, he kept his eyes lowered and bowed humbly to his king, "Yes, my lord."

Jareth disappeared immediately after that and appeared on top of the wall behind Kassydie, his shadow fell behind him as he followed her silently. Pandora Lake would be a fitting punishment for the gate keeper's insolence. He would be forced to endure nightmarish things for the rest of eternity, the lake wouldn't let him die, and would make him live through realistic horrors pulled from the depths of his heart, the things he feared most would come alive for him. How dare he fall in love with Kassydie! Jareth watched the long black hair of the woman as she wandered through the walls of his labyrinth. It stretched seductively to her lower back and shimmered silkily in the night. He longed to see that gorgeous hair partially hide naked flesh among his silken bed sheets. He continued to follow her as she wandered around. She didn't even pause to think about her turns, just took them, and somehow they were always the right turn to make. Her intuition was incredibly strong. The labyrinth was actually easy for her! No wonder she'd come so far so quickly! She was singing to herself.

In Japanese...

Jareth listened anyway. Human languages were simple to translate.

"Saa sono kaowo yoku misete okure," Kassydie sang the lyrics of Prince of Blue softly to herself, "Tsuini anataga mezameta toki senritsu ga wagamiwo osou..."

Jareth suppressed a chuckle, the lyrics weren't like the music he was used to in UnderGround, where the songs told stories of past legends or heroes or disasters. No, she was singing about a perverted vampire prince.

She stopped singing suddenly. Jareth crept soundlessly closer and sat down on the wall as she looked back and forth. She turned around, and without looking around looked straight up at him.

"You're creepy." She shouted up to him and turned around to continue on.

Jareth reappeared right in front of her, making her scream and jump back.

"You're a regular Kisshu, aren't you?" Kassydie said as sarcastically as she could, trying to cover up the fact that he'd scared her.

Jareth smirked at her, "How are you enjoying my labyrinth?"

Kassydie shrugged as she turned a corner and almost told him how easy it was. "It won't stop trying to kill me." She said instead.

Jareth chuckled, he didn't bother attempting to hold it in. He grabbed her around the waist and turned her to face him. "Look at me," He insisted softly, "Talk to me."

Blue eyes turned to the corner, to look down the path ahead of her. She turned them back up to him. "Jareth please, I have to get back to defeating your labyrinth."

Jareth smiled, his hand rested high on her waist and she didn't even try to push his hand off. "You can't spare a few moments?"

She bit her lip seductively, looking up, her eyes reflecting the stars above, making it look as if she had an entire sky within them. He imagined those eyes in the throws of passion, his hand slid slightly higher, testing his limits. Her hand rested over his, stopping his assent. Her other hand fiddled with the tie of her cloak.

"I can't, really." She frowned, looking at the zipping reflections in the water.

"If I had a compromise to offer?" Jareth tilted his head and watched her closely. Her hand was hot over the glove, he wanted to take them off and feel every inch of her himself.

She lifted an eyebrow, "If the Goblin King is willing to compromise, then Kassydie-sama is willing to spend a few moments to hear it." She smiled cutely at referring to herself in third person.

"If you agree to stay, I will send Jamie home." He wanted to keep Jamie, he wanted to dearly. But he didn't want to risk Kassydie rejecting him. He couldn't risk losing her.

Kassydie frowned and stepped back away from him. Jareth returned his hand to his side and refrained from showing his disappointment at the loss of contact.

"I can't do that." Kassydie shook her head. Her eyes blazed angrily, though Jareth couldn't tell at what. Her face flushed slightly, making Jareth suppress a longing sigh.

"Why not? Jamie goes back to her mother, safe and sound. You haven't finished my labyrinth yet and you've only got five hours and twenty two minutes left."

Kassydie tilted her chin up defiantly, she tossed her hair over her shoulder in her best Haruhi Suzumiya impression, "Five hours is plenty of time!"

Jareth narrowed his eyes slightly, "Really? Five hours is far too much time, I realize now." He held his hand up and a clock appeared winding forward two hours. "Then three hours should be plenty of time as well, hm?"

Kassydie pressed her lips together and scowled as she lost two hours of time, the thing she'd been trying to avoid. WWSD, what would Suzumiya do? She tilted her head to the side, "If we're done here. This conversation has grown boring."

Jareth resisted the urge to smile at her tough act and took pity, "Kassydie, I'll give you those hours back, but you'll kiss me for them."

Kassydie pulled her lip back under her teeth. Jareth knew she'd choose her pride over her time. She was a third through, three hours would be easy for her.

Which is why Jareth was shocked when she lurched forward and stretched up to kiss him delicately on the lips.

The bewilderment must have been betrayed on his face because Kassydie beamed victoriously. "I'd like to keep the clock too, or a pocket watch would actually be better. It's hard to keep track of the time."

Jareth gained control of his expression as the clock wound back two hours. He held out his hand and a pocket watch appeared in his palm. Kassydie took her time lifting it from his palm, letting her fingers brush almost imperceptibly over his thin leather gloves. He still felt the touch of her lips burning against his own. As soon as she turned around he disappeared to his castle. He tore off a glove and pressed his fingers against his lips, as if to hold the feeling of her mouth against his in place. He replayed the scene over and over. Her hand sliding up to his shoulder, her breasts pressing softly against his chest as she leaned up against him to reach his unsuspecting lips with her own. She had filled his arms for the very briefest of moments and he cursed himself for not being prepared for it, for not pressing his lips back against hers, for just watching as her lashes brushed against her cheeks and she kissed him. For not wrapping his arms around her and taking her back to his living quarters the moment she was in his world!

He sprawled into his throne, not caring that the stature was undignified as he was completely alone. His court was off to bed, and his adviser was in the labyrinth, betraying Kassydie. He groaned inwardly, Kassydie was making a proper mess of him! She had done the exact opposite of what he'd expected from the moment she'd stepped foot in the labyrinth. She had kissed him. And he knew she'd only ever kissed one other guy, a boyfriend of only a year before she broke up with him. The young fool wasn't creative, wild, or strong enough to satisfy her. When she'd broken up with him, she had sighed and told him he was too much of a uke. And the foolish boy let her walk away from him. He'd later gotten angry and brushed it off to his friends as a story that he'd broken up with her because she was too much of a warped 'otaku'. The boy had been mystified when, for weeks later, a barn owl wreaked havoc on his life.

The point being that kisses weren't exactly a common thing for Kassydie, and yet she'd hardly hesitated in kissing him. Had she wanted those two hours so desperately? Or was it possible she had just wanted to kiss him? Jareth banished the thoughts from his mind as his heart fluttered with hope and he felt queasy with dread, what if it was just that she had wanted the two hours back? Was it possible she wasn't attracted to him at all? Jareth mentally shook himself and stood up to Jamie's room.

He looked down at the beautiful little baby, her soft brown curls twisting around her head, her tiny fingers curved like unopened petals against the blankets. Jareth wanted desperately to keep her here in UnderGround. She would make such a powerful queen! How easily she would be able to rule over the higher courts! Jareth himself couldn't stand to be around the fluffy snobs even though he had the power to rule all of UnderGround. But Jamie, she would be able to stand, if not straighten out, those annoying courtesans. She would be so powerful. Like her half-Grandmother. Like Sarah and yet completely different. But he also wanted Kassydie. The fierce woman, who could so easily defeat his labyrinth and rule beside him as Queen. Who he would make his lover. No matter what the cost.

He put his glove back on, and returned to his crystal ball.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie started giggling as soon as Jareth had disappeared. Even with her back turned she had known the moment he'd gone. At first, she had absolutely planned not to kiss him. She'd had her mind set against it. Not because she didn't want to kiss him, it was a pride thing. Sort of like why Light refused to throw the tennis match with L.

But, well, he'd gotten a look in his eye that said he knew she wouldn't kiss him. And that cocky smirk had spread across his lips. He was challenging her to kiss him. So she did. It was adorable how baffled he'd become and how quickly he regained control of his expression. Which only made that split second of bewilderment sweeter. And she definitely didn't regret kissing him, not just because she'd gotten her two hours back, but because he was sexy.

She was absolutely giddy when she exited the eerie bricks of the maze walls and entered a courtyard of sorts. She'd made it through that entire section without anything trying to kill her. This labyrinth was finally going in her favor! She'd dodged the horrors of the nymphs, not even a glimpse of a single one! She hoped her friends had made it alright. She'd noticed that she did really well in the labyrinth as long as she didn't think about the turns she made. Almost as if the labyrinth finally wanted her to conquer it. And if that were true, then, by extension, Jareth wanted her to conquer it as well. Now that she had her two hours back, she could wait calmly for her friends to arrive with her.

She sat down and leaned against the wall. She was grateful for the calm warmth of the night. It was a perfect evening, not clammy or humid, or stuffy and choking. And the air down here was sweet. Literally sweet. Almost as if her tongue were being coated with a fine layer of honey every time she took in a breath. It was almost intoxicating. .:"AN/ tiny spoiler ahead.":. She imagined that this was what the air was like in the Eden Eve was in when she was taken away from Train in Black Cat. It was probably sweet because there wasn't any pollution. At least, she hadn't seen any pollution. The flowers around her were things she'd never seen, they seemed to bloom big and beautiful under the bright starlight. As if they thrived off of the fairy starshine. Their petals hid the stalks beneath them from view, buds opening wide to reveal the silver petals surrounding decorative stamen that seemed to glow a soft white. Kassydie breathed in the heady scent of the flowers. It was a soothing scent, like a mother's perfume before you fall asleep in her arms.

Kassydie stretched her arms up, letting her hands slide against the wall, which felt soft, like feathers. Strange, the rocks looked so rough. She let her fingers stroke the rocks, she could feel where they dipped into whatever held them together in their irregular pattern, but wherever she touched they felt soft, as if they were wet sea sponge.

Kassydie yawned. She was so tired. Her body was exhausted, she'd been nearly killed countless times and had run harder than Kagura had run after Kyo. She laughed at the memory of it. This place felt so surreal. She dropped her hands to her side and looked around. It was almost like she wasn't here at all. So dream-like. And everything felt so familiar, as if it were made from pieces of her subconscious. What if it were all a dream? She could have fallen asleep with her grandmother's book, thinking about her grandma and the story she always told them. The story she'd known by heart for as long as she could remember.

Kassydie was a social enough person to have made a lot of friends when she was young, she always got them to pretend they were in her grandmother's story. Kassydie had always played the role of the fearsome goblin king, falling in love with the beautiful young Sarah. Her freshman year in high school she'd written it all down as a theater play and easily convinced the drama club to perform it. She'd always been entranced in the world her grandmother described to her, had always been in love with UnderGround. She'd never doubted its existence. Her grandmother had always insisted it was real. When she was younger she'd been sent to a psychiatrist but he had pronounced her sane, if fanciful. But her grandma wouldn't ever lie to her. Kassydie rubbed at one of many stinging scratches on her body. No, she was really here. And she was really, really sleepy. She moved, suddenly uncomfortable, to lay down in the flowers. A burst of sparkles flew up from them. Kassydie assumed it was pollen. It was beautiful, she felt it blanket her.

Her friends would be out of the maze soon. And when they came out, they could wake her up. She'd always been a light sleeper, she'd just as likely wake up as soon as she heard their footsteps.

Kassydie closed her eyes, just for a little nap.

*^*%*^*

_Her surroundings looked a lot like the Christmas Party scene in Ouran High School Host Club. Windows on three sides, stretching periodically from floor to ceiling. The entire room was brightly lit by extravagant chandeliers. Expensive tiles clicked under her short heels as she wandered curiously around the empty room. The silence was eerie. This was a place that should be filled with soft classical music, surrounding dancers as they tapped their way across the floor. It was an atmosphere that could only be complete with the sounds of lovers and friends flirting and laughing and being dramatic. In ballroom gowns of course. Well, the ladies would be in ballroom gowns. The men would all wear boring suits that looked extremely similar because men at dance parties all dressed uniformly as the girls prettied themselves up to the fullest to make sure they would be completely unique from anyone else in the room._

_Of course, if this were the Ouran ballroom, which she suspected it was, then there would only be six guys (one cross dressing girl) in the entire room and they would all be dressed different from each other. Except the twins of course._

_And now she was rambling because the quiet in the room was making her uncomfortable and Kassydie had to fill her head with meaningless chatter to distract herself from going to look for whatever strange terror lie in wait for her._

_This was probably a nightmare._

_Kassydie looked back, towards the two grand stairs that melded into one another. The nightmare would come from there. So she should probably get away from the stairs._

_Kassydie walked to the stairs and started climbing them. Without hesitating she walked up the left set of stairs. She had to lift a long lavender skirt, that she realized was trailing behind her about three feet, to ascend the stairs. She looked at her shoes, short healed white shoes that exposed most of her feet except for a two inch band. They looked silky and soft and were spotted with little white diamonds, which Kassydie assumed to be plastic or glass but they sparkled like real ones. She wondered what the dress looked like._

_Kassydie found out when she entered a room and looked up to see herself surrounded by mirrors, even the floor and ceiling. It was like something out of the Phantom of the Opera. She focused on her reflection._

_Her hair was fixed up in a complicated twist that seemed to cascade over her right shoulder and was decorated with a string of white diamonds with hidden clips that held up the complicated curls. Her make-up was done in thin layers of black eyeliner and silvery make up that made her dark blue eyes seem almost anime large and extremely bright. Her lips were a shade of soft pink that made it look as if she, or someone, had been biting lightly at them. The dress was strapless, the collar was a straight line but still managed to make her breasts seem well exposed. The bodice hugged her waist and then fanned out into the loose skirt of the dress. A silk ribbon was tied around her waist, with the bow resting on her left hip. It was beautiful._

_She hoped the mirrors weren't two way because she wasn't sure if she was wearing panties. She crouched down and rested her fingernail against the mirror floor. There was a space between her finger and the reflection. Good, the mirror on the ground was real. She walked forward and touched the mirror, she began walking around the room, letting her fingers leave a smudge trail across the polished surface until the surface fell away. Kassydie kept going until the mirror disappeared again and then walked into another mirror hallway. Her heart pounded in her chest as she walked alone through the mirror maze. Her reflection moved in the corners of her eyes, making her feel like she should turn around and check behind her every two minutes to check if someone was there, and she did. And no one was ever there. Well, except for her reflection._

_Kassydie suppressed a shudder and continued on. She felt the urge to break the damn mirrors but that would probably only make her more confused._

_Where was the point of this maze? She was getting scared of being alone. It felt as if she were the only person in the world. The last thing left alive to make sound. Even with the mirrors creating the illusion of space she felt as though she were being compressed and choked. The silence rang painfully in her ears and her heart tightened at the prospect of being alone for the rest of her life, entombed in this maze of mirrors. She pleaded silently for a way out, to whom she didn't know. She couldn't bring herself to talk. Even the hallow sound of her shoes seemed loud enough to shatter the mirrors surrounding her and send minuscule shards slicing through her skin. Kassydie suppressed the shiver that threatened to race along her spine._

_She turned again, into another hallway of mirrors. Her anxious face, so openly and vulnerably scared, stared back at her a trillion times. She didn't want to look at the raw terror in her eyes any more. She could hardly bear to keep moving her feet. She wanted desperately to curl into a ball and close her eyes and wish this all away a million million times._

_But she couldn't do that. It wouldn't work, it wouldn't even help. Her lips set into a grim line of determined finality and her eyes narrowed defiantly. She wouldn't be afraid! She was not afraid!_

"I am **not **afraid!" _She swore to the reflections around her. And she meant it to, with all her heart she was not afraid of these stupid mirrored walls. She was not afraid of the endless silence she had broken with her powerful voice. She was not afraid of the isolation in the air around her. _"Listen to me!" _She demanded, _"I'm not ascared of any of this!" 

_Kassydie began laughing at the silly word she'd used. And as her laughter filled the air it forced the cold mirrors down and away from her. She was in another large room. A pristine white ballroom filled with dancing people, sneering at her beneath masks as they laughed and cajoled with one another. But she only laughed at them. She touched her face, no mask. She was the main character then. No mask in a masquerade=main character._

_The voyeuristic dancers groped at each other. Feeling their partners up as they twirled and danced to classical music. The sight was comical. Kassydie slapped domineeringly at the grabbing hands and the dancers stopped reaching for her after a few hard smacks. She wandered around the room. Searching for someone though she wasn't quite sure whom. Since she was the main character of this masquerade, and straight, it must be a man. Probably also masked and watching her from within the crowd. Something seemed ridiculously familiar about this scene, and she felt like she was forgetting something life altering and a little bit traumatizing. She wondered whether she should push the thought away or try to remember it when she caught sight of stillness among the moving crowd._

_But when she turned to focus on it there were only dirty waltzers. Definitely a masked man watching her from within the crowd. And she'd been allowed to catch sight of him. He was playing hide and seek._

_But Kassydie didn't want to play. She was impatient to meet him._

"**Olly, olly oxen free!**" _Kassydie shouted as loud as she could, startling all of the dancers around her who had to fight to regain their belittling sneers and stances._

_There was a chuckle behind her and Kassydie turned to face the point of her masquerade scene. The plot!_

_Jareth didn't even have a mask to remove, he hadn't been wearing one at all but had managed to hide himself with other dancers. His wild mane of hair was streaked in hues of fire. His suit was velvety raven black, with a white frills peeking from beneath the sleeves. He wore a white cravat with a silver owl pin, a barn owl, with wings in flight and talons spread, ready to capture its prey._

"You haven't changed at all,"_ He murmured deeply for only her ears as he took her into his arms, _"You always surprise me."

_Kassydie allowed him to take her hand and place his on her waist as she rested her other hand lightly on his shoulder. He led her in a perfect waltz._

_She peered up at him with deep blue eyes, _"You haven't known me long enough for me to surprise you very often."

_He laughed rather than reply, and pressed her closer to him._

_She tried again, _"You can hold me as tight as you want to but I'm still going to wake up and get Jamie back."

_Surprise flickered across his face as quick as lightening before it was gone. _"You shouldn't remember that." _He told her, simply smiling as if something amused him._

_Kassydie shrugged and spun under his arm before returning into them, _"I also shouldn't be wasting time dancing with you. But I've always been a bit of a rule breaker." _She smiled coyly up at him. Was she flirting? It felt like flirting but the words were hardly of that nature. Were they?_

"You never cease to amaze me anew." _Jareth admitted._

"I try." _Kassydie shrugged, then noticed what was off about him. She looked at his hand. _"You aren't wearing gloves."

_Jareth looked like it was something he'd hoped she wouldn't notice. _"It's too hot for gloves." _Which was obviously an innuendo or something, having no literal meaning._

_Kassydie gently squeezed his bare hand, letting her fingers brush softly over the back of his hand._

_Jareth closed his eyes for a short moment that was too long to be called a blink._

"I have to go wake up now, Jareth." _Kassydie told him. She didn't want to. It would be so nice to just stay in his arms. To just become his lover and submit to defeat._

_Jareth looked sad again, _"Why do you defy me? I could make you so happy."

_Kassydie shook her head, she couldn't ever submit. Not with him, she would always have to fight for dominance with Jareth. _"I don't deserve to be happy with you."

"Don't I deserve it?" _He pleaded._

_Kassydie looked up at him. She gazed into his eyes, her gaze didn't flicker from the large pupil to the small as so many did. No, her gaze was steady as if she were peering into the deepest parts of him, finding what he wanted to keep hidden. And she almost was. Kassydie saw what he was. A lonely man, a lonely man in love with a very, very young woman. Jareth was just a man striving desperately for comfort and love. For her comfort and her love. She knew in that gaze that he didn't want her because of her grandmother. No, for some reason she couldn't puzzle out he wanted her, Kassydie. For the pure reason of love._

_They stopped moving as Kassydie let go of him to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her forehead against his chest. The hand she'd been holding moved to her hair, his fingers brushing through it briefly before he slid it to the side of her face and made her look up at him._

"I will love you." _Kassydie whispered the promise. Jareth's eyes lit up with the pure joy that only came from being accepted by a lover and he leaned down to kiss her, his eyes slowly closing. And when his lips were less than a breath away from her own, Kassydie closed her eyes._

*^*%*^*

And woke up in Sange's arms.

She didn't move save for opening her eyes half way. She was being carried like a fainted princess in Sange's arms as he walked. She picked her head up, alerting everyone to the fact that she was awake. Sange stopped walking to look down at her with sheer relief.

Esten was the one that spoke, "Yer awaike!" The fifty year old child grabbed her hand and hopped excitedly up and down. "Awaike awaike! You didn' let 'im taike you!"

"Take me?" Kassydie wondered aloud.

Sange was the one to explain, still holding her as Sharrick jumped into her arms and purred like drifting ash.

"You fell asleep in the king's flowers. You're dream was, well, basically real. Usually he attempts to take the wanderer away. Using whatever means he can to make them submit to him." He looked away briefly, obviously distracted by some emotion, but the kelpie was so unhuman that Kassydie couldn't tell at all what it was, "He'd have destroyed you if you'd gone with him and your body would have died."

Kassydie nodded, "Are you taking me closer to the castle?"

Sange snorted and rolled his eyes, "Of course I am you stupid girl."

"Why aren't I walking?" She asked next, stroking Sharrick.

Esten shook his head, "Can't. You'd fall right away ya would. Them flowers will 'ave drained yer strength. Ya gotta be carried a bit longer before it's okay to let you down."

Kassydie smiled, understanding, "Thank you Sange. For helping me so much."

Sange nodded and seemed a bit troubled.

Kassydie looked at Sharrick's cat/reptile-like face as she petted her. She felt troubled too.

Because Sange really was taking her closer to the castle. She could feel it in her heart. Since he'd started walking with her she knew Sange wouldn't help her direction wise, if anything he'd lead her farther from the castle. Because he was the gate keeper of the labyrinth. He worked directly for Jareth to protect his kingdom. She'd expected him to try to lead her astray but instead Sange had merely followed her and followed Esten when she let him lead them for a ways. He'd helped her out of many sticky situations, but had never lead her closer to the castle. And now he was taking her there himself. Something she knew would infuriate Jareth, no matter how much he loved her. This would endanger him.

So why was he doing it?

**Finally done! I am soooo soooo sooooo sorry for being such a cursable and lazy writer! Please, please forgive me everyone! I beg forgiveness! I humble myself prostrate before you all to forgive this worthless person!**

**And now about the story! I know there wasn't really any horror in it but I'm absolutely definitely going to make the next chapter specifically terrifying! I'm really happy about how the romance was progressed in this chapter though because I haven't been satisfied with how it was growing until now! The next chapter will really make this a Romance/Horror story! FINALLY! And I'll do my very, very best to put the next chapter up as soon as possible! Even though school is starting!**

**Thank you so much everyone for putting up with me! You once again have Nixter to thank. She made me promise to finish it tonight. If she hadn't you'd have probably had to wait another couple of days to a week. ^-^" I'll try to stop being so horrible!**


	11. 9th Hour

**I'm starting on this right away! I love the reviews I've gotten on the last chapter so far! I didn't think people would love my characters so much! The feedback on how much everyone loves them makes me so happy I could choke and die! Death is sweet! ^-^ Kidding of course. Death tastes not too good. Unless you add thyme...and sage...some garlic...**

She said she would love him.

Why had she left then?

Kassydie had left him, had willed herself away from him right after she'd said she would love him! How could she do that to him? She'd abandoned him!

Jareth leaned against the wall on his terrace, his hand clutched over his heart. Even Sarah's rejection had not hurt him so deeply. His pride had been wounded, yes, and he had been very sad to loose such a strong a beautiful queen. But Kassydie hadn't even openly rejected him, just left him. So why did his heart seem to ache so? And why couldn't he even bring himself to feel angry with her for doing this to him? No, he couldn't be so weak. Not now. No, he had to check on her. What was her plan? She couldn't have rejected him. He couldn't believe that she would ever reject him. It hurt too much to think it.

A baby's cry pierced the silence of the sleeping castle.

Jamie.

**Jamie!**

Jareth sprung from the wall and ran to her room. He quickly grabbed the medicine and gently lifted her from the crib.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," He chanted as he poured the medication into the baby girl's mouth. "I'd nearly forgotten, I'm so sorry!" Jareth had never been so frantic and flustered ever before in his life.

Jamie drank the medicine and looked up at Jareth sleepily and trustingly, as if he hadn't just endangered her life by nearly forgetting to administer her medication. Jamie didn't see the evil and wrong in the world, not yet. She was so innocent in his arms. So untouched by lies and corruption. She was so completely pure.

Jareth laid the sleeping baby back in her crib. He stood over the sleeping babe and wondered what it would be like to be a father, to have an heir to raise. In his many years he had never helped to conceive a child. Sidhe women were hardly fertile, it was rare for them to get pregnant, so none of his past bed mates had ever been pregnant with his child. And the children he stole he could not keep. They turned into goblins, as is always the deal when taking a child from Aboveground. He wanted an heir as much as he wanted a Queen. And he wanted nothing more than for Kassydie to bear their child. Why had Kassydie left her dream? It wasn't fair! She made him love her so dearly and then tore herself from his arms!

Jareth chuckled bitterly at the familiar tone of the words. He sounded like Sarah.

He leaned over the crib and looked down at the stolen child, "Jamie," He whispered to the sleeping girl, "I loved your grandmother, I always will in a way. But I need Kassydie, I- Jamie you must help me. You must give me your sister." He felt foolish, asking a baby to give her sister to him, a sleeping baby at that. But, this sleeping child was the reason for everything Kassydie had done in this labyrinth, everything. Even the reason why she'd told him she would love him, and then left him alone in their dream world. Jamie was worth everything to Kassydie and while Jareth adored her as well he couldn't understand the woman's need to sacrifice everything for this child. But that was exactly what she was doing. Sarah had gotten caught up in the labyrinth, she had become selfish with the world she craved. It was why she'd so easily forgotten about Toby after she'd eaten the peach. She hadn't been thinking about him at all. But Kassydie had stayed completely lucid during the dream. Jareth suspected she'd known it was a dream the entire time, and had also known she could easily escape it. But, she hadn't stopped thinking about Jamie for a single moment.

Which made Jamie the key to Kassydie. The only way Jareth would be able to keep Kassydie would be to use Jamie as a bargaining item.

It was so hard to look at such an innocent baby and imagine using her as a tool to get what he wanted. Jareth had to leave the nursery. His nursery actually. His childhood toys were still set up around the room. Plush goblins and rocking kelpies. Moonstone blocks with runes on them, small wooden figures of kings and fairies and every other manner of creature. He had used all these toy creatures to give himself companions as a child. Lifeless friends, incapable of speaking to him, laughing with him, touching him. Until he'd started finding friends who would play with him. Jareth had had many names before he was the Goblin King. Peter Pan, The Piper, always a thief of children. And always the children left him, one way or another.

Jareth looked away from the silly things. Silly fragments of his past, of a very long time ago. Why should he think of loneliness when he had Kassydie? Soon, she would be his, forever.

And so Jareth left Jamie in his childhood room of bleak and gloomy isolation. He had a plan to set into motion.

Now, if only Kassydie could keep out of trouble until he was ready.

*^*%*^*

"How is it this hot at night? Aren't hot places supposed to get really cold at night?" Kassydie wondered as she slipped, once again, out of her cape. "This place is backwards."

Sange and Esten shrugged simultaneously and then pretended not to notice. They still didn't like that they were so similar. It must come with being warring species for millennia. Kassydie petted Sharrick and looked at the pocket watch. She was looking at it every three minutes and the ticking away of her time to save Jamie only made her more anxious. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't help it.

"You're driving me mad with that." Sange grumbled, glaring at the insidious little watch. "Put it away or I'll have Sharrick melt it there in your hand."

Kassydie frowned and put it in her cloak with her grandmother's book. "You have no power over me, Sange." She informed him, "You're so bossy."

"If it keeps you alive."

Kassydie smiled at him, which he hadn't expected. They'd gotten into little arguments like this along the way and Kassydie usually held to her point. "You're so nice to me."

Esten snorted, "A kelpie, nice? Naw! Ya're weird, Kassydie."

"Don't worry, Esten, I love you too." Kassydie grinned at the fifty year old child.

Esten grinned back with innocent abandon. Fifty years, and he still had the mentality of a ten year old. Kassydie often caught herself wondering at how this magical place worked. She felt the need to figure it out, to apply whatever logic she had to fit it into making sense, whether that logic made sense to anyone but herself, was not her problem. She had nailed Esten's childishness to the fact that trees must age slower than humans, or mature slower. So, for Esten, five years counted as one. Not a hard concept. Then there was the mystery of Sange. Acting aloof and indifferent one moment then warm and caring the next. Which was his real side? Was either? She wanted desperately to figure out the kelpie. He was so kind, even saving her life for no apparent reason at all. And of course, the greatest riddle of the labyrinth, the King and creator of it. Jareth. She couldn't even begin to figure him out.

Kassydie yawned and rubbed a dawning headache from her temples. She looked around the courtyard of tall hedges that served as the next leg of their journey. Another split, Kassydie turned left, then left, then right. She thought it was amazing how she never really seemed to hit a dead end. Could it be that there were none? Was it all a continuous loop? Did all roads really lead to Rome? Kassydie didn't think it could be anything else. How else could she get through the maze so easily? Well, excluding all the beasties that wanted her blood spilled upon the stone pathways.

"Why do you help me, Sange?"

Sange cast her a conflicted sidelong glance and opened his mouth to say something profound.

He looked over his shoulder, "Brownies!"

Kassydie didn't have any time to wonder what he meant by chocolaty confections when the slight rustling, which she had acquitted to the breeze, erupted into a chorus of shaking leaves as little brownies and boggarts burst from their hiding places in the hedges.

Sange grabbed her hand, she grabbed Esten's, and they started running. Sharrick positioned herself on Sange's shoulders and let loose the cannon of volcanic fire that burned in her veins, scorching the sharp toothed legion of monsters.

Kassydie struggled to keep up with the two Underground denizens. She'd run more in the past nine hours than she had in her entire life as a book loving otaku. She was feeling less like Konata and more like Tohru every minute, her pace getting slower though she fought valiantly against it.

Suddenly she was in the air. Sange had scooped her into his arms and he and Esten actually ran _faster_ than before. They'd been keeping pace with her and she had only endangered them with her sluggish speed. She panted to catch her breath from the run as Sange carried her away from the danger. Neither he nor Esten had even so much as broken a sweat. Did all fairy tale creatures have to be so absolutely perfect? She was aware that this wasn't exactly the time to bemoan the ugliness of the human form but she couldn't help but feel dull and pathetic next to sheer perfection.

Sange and Esten jumped in unison, dodging an attack from twenty of the brownies as they slipped into another passage in the labyrinth. Kassydie clung to Sange, scared she'd fall even though Sange's arms were strong. Kassydie peeked over his shoulder and saw that Sharrick's flames were hardly making a dent in the myriads of little beasts.

"We need to do something," Kassydie pointed out very obviously.

"I appreciate your grasp on the conspicuous nature of our predicament," Sange growled.

Kassydie pouted, "I can't help speaking while I think!"

"I can't believe you think as much as you speak," His tone carried none of the harshness of his words, just a light teasing tone laced with worry.

"Ai cahn't beeleve ya two ahr exchangin' banter as we run for our lives!" Esten exclaimed, looking back, only to turn forward again.

"I said I'm thinking!" Kassydie nearly snapped. How could they get out of this. "Don't you have some kind of plant connection, Esten?"

"Wai? Cuz Ai'm a tree? Pssh!" Esten rolled his eyes, "Yeah but not here. Not in th' king's labyrinth. He controls all of it."

"Oh." There went that idea. The army behind them seemed inexhaustible but Sharrick's flames were growing farther apart and notably weaker. The salamander wouldn't be able to keep this up for ever.

Kassydie wished with all her heart for something to divert the brownies and boggarts attention. Something to get them away.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet fell away, and the army behind them did not follow.

Kassydie and her friends tumbled heel over head down the long shaft, getting scraped by rocks and roots and rubble. The tunnel was dark and it seemed they would fall forever. Sange and Esten jerked back a bit just as light hit them. Sange grabbed Kassydie's hand but a rock from above slammed onto the back of her knee and her hands flew down to try to assuage the pain as she continued to roll. Sange shouted something to her as he made another dive for her hand but it was too late.

Kassydie fell into the inky blackness of the labyrinth's most renowned feature.

Kassydie fell into Pandora's Pond.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie woke with a start, the kind of start you wake with when you dreamed you've fallen. She looked around her white and blue room, filled with the light of another rainy Seattle day. She flopped back onto her warm pillows, her fingers fiddling idly with the small ribbons on her nightgown. She looked out at the rain that turned everything outside to a lighter, mistier color.

Her dreams were getting more elaborate. Her gaze fell on the little red book her grandmother had given her when she'd had to move to away. She missed her grandmother, all the way on the opposite coast. She'd never understood why her grandmother had had to leave Washington, but she did.

Kassydie read the book like Yako ate food. She read it almost more than she read the manga that spilled out of her many book shelves. She decided she'd spent enough time in bed and sat up.

She'd had the strangest dream. Her father had died and left her with some horrible woman, and, like the girl in the tale, Kassydie had wished away the baby that came from her father and that step mother.

And Jareth had come to her. Kassydie blushed at the thought. She'd crushed on the Goblin King from Grandma Sarah's more stories than she had on Lelouch, or L, or even Ikuto! She blushed and smiled at all the times her dream had shown her the sexy ruler of the fantasy world she desperately wanted to be real.

Kassydie shook her head and chastised herself for being so high school girly. _She'd been through too much to act like that._

She dressed herself and went downstairs to see her father cooking blueberry pancakes in the kitchen. The smell was tantalizing and, while it wasn't quite how mom would always make them, it was still delicious.

"Good morning, dad," Kassydie greeted, stifling a yawn as she pulled milk from the fridge.

"Why do you say that?" Her dad's voice sounded solemn and low.

Kassydie was nervous but laughed it off, "I always say it!"

"You haven't said it in seven months." He informed her.

Seven months? "What are you talking about, Daddy-o?" Kassydie tried to keep her voice light. Why was she so on edge? So ill at ease?

Her father turned around, his face was marred by glass, his shirt was torn and bloodied from the asphalt, the seat belt had marked his skin with a rubbed burn where she could see it. Her father's neck hung at an unhealthy angle as blood poured from his head, his nose, his mouth, a few of his teeth were missing and a large shard of metal jutted from his throat.

Kassydie choked on a sob and dropped the milk to spill, milk she didn't really hold. Tears spilled from her eyes at the gruesome last image of her father that she'd had imprinted in her memory forever.

"Daddy!" She cried, just like she had then, only she'd been half choking on her own blood when she'd said it. Her hand flew up to a scar along the side of her head, one easily hidden by her long hair.

"You didn't look," He accused. "You kept going, you shouldn't have driven, I shouldn't have let you drive, Kassydie. You killed me."

Kassydie sank to her knees and shook her head, her hands wanted to press over her ears to block out his words but she knew they were true. She couldn't deny it. He had died, in an accident that would always be her fault. The only casualty in the three car pile up.

"I'm sorry," She sobbed, "So sorry, so sorry, forgive me, sorry!" She chanted like a mantra. But she didn't deserve forgiveness, would never deserve it.

"Kassydie," A feminine voice, light and soft and filled with illness, came from behind Kassydie. She looked up.

Her mother stood above her. Her luscious black hair dulled by her disease. Her bright gray eyes covered in cataracts. Her mother's eyes sunk into her head, a living skeleton. She curled her colorless lips into a gaunt smile as she looked down at Kassydie. Kassydie could see the frame work of bones in her mother's body.

"You never said goodbye." Her mother stated. "You were gone when I died. I was all alone. You cared more about getting your school work than you did about your dying mother."

Kassydie shook her head but didn't deny the legitimacy of what the phantom of her mother pledged. She hadn't been there when her mother had died, finally died, after wasting away for two years. Tears streaked down Kassydie's cheeks. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She cried.

Her mother's cold, bony fingers wrapped around her neck, tighter and tighter. Her father's fingers dug into the flesh of her stomach, eager to pull her open with just his hands and let her organs leak onto the floor as her mother constricted her airway. Kassydie gasped for breath, her hands clawing at whatever she could find, trying to release the pain. Her resistance became weaker and weaker as the oxygen supply she needed to focus was cut off. Kassydie thought she was going to black out from both the pain and the lack of oxygen.

Then, they were gone, but their haunting words hung in the air. Kassydie sank to the ground, gasping for air and holding her bruising stomach, but something far worse plagued her. She rocked herself as the ache that could never be healed tore itself open with a vengeance. Both of her parents, dead. Her carelessness the cause of their suffering in their last moments. Sobs rocked through her body, tears stung her eyes as she gasped for air between cries.

A clock tolled the hour in the dark house. Jamie's medicine!

Kassydie woke up and jumped out of the bed. It was three in the morning. Her alarm should have gone off at two!

Kassydie raced for the nursery, she didn't notice the drying salt on her face as she dove into Jamie's room.

Jamie was a still lump in her crib, still as death.

*^*%*^*

Jareth took a pause in the preparations for his planning to win Kassydie's heart and decided to take a peek on her progress. The past hour had been uneventful for her, she'd gone into a very quiet part of the labyrinth.

He looked into his crystal in time to see Kassydie slide into a black lake. The water was more like ink than anything as it swallowed Kassydie. She disappeared beneath the surface of the pool of nightmares as soon as she hit it.

Kassydie was in Pandora's Pond. The pond that had replaced the infernal Bog of Eternal Stench, which hadn't been enough to make his last gate keeper obey him. Pandora's Pond was a lake of nightmares. It forced any who entered it to endure eternity in all the horrors of their mind. Playing them over and over as the victim suffered in the purgatory of the demons of their imagination.

And Kassydie was trapped in it.

Jareth shook his head in denial but what he saw had been truer than anything else in his whole world. He could not lose Kassydie to her nightmares. What did her mind create to torment her with? What did the evil liquid of the pond pull from the depths of her memory to torture her with? His fragile love, the pond would drive her insane with fear in moments and she would be trapped there for all of time. She'd had so many real nightmares and had endured them. But her heart and mind couldn't possibly bear the strength of the pond.

He had to help her. He had to get her out, he had to do something!

But he couldn't pull her out of the pond. They would both be trapped if he tried for the pond would take even its master.

But she was in his labyrinth.

And he could go to her dreams.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie shook her head, her hands trembled as she approached the crib.

"Jamie," She whispered. It couldn't happen, not to Jamie. Her medicine wasn't too late. She could still be saved by it! Kassydie picked up the bottle and called the little girl's name again, "Jamie?"

Kassydie looked down into the crib and threw herself back with a cry of horror. She curled into herself and shook with sobs of fright, guilt, and anguish.

The image would torture her for as long as she lived. The picture would always be in her head, she'd never, never forget it.

Jamie's once green eyes had stared hauntingly up at Kassydie from beneath the milky cataracts of death. Her tiny fingers had curled and twisted into frozen pain, her mouth open in a scream. Her body was black save for bright white sores that covered her flesh, sores the size of ping pong balls. Her soft brown curls had matted to her skin with sweat from the pain and suffering she had endured before she died.

A strangled cry, barely audible, caused Kassydie's heart to freeze in terror.

Kassydie pulled her wits about her and scrambled to the crib. Jamie blinked once, her chest moved ever so slightly with a single breath. Jamie was alive, even as her skin rotted over her. All because Kassydie had forgotten to administer the medicine on time.

"Jamie!" Kassydie screamed and reached in to touch her.

Jamie's tongue moved slightly, there were white sores on it too. Suddenly, squirming white maggots with little shining black head burst from under the skin of her tongue, in her mouth. Jamie choked on them as they filled her tongue, they began oozing out of the sores as the burst into hatching. They writhed all over her flesh and Jamie writhed with them. No longer was she still as death as she thrashed in the crib. From her mouth spewed howls and screams so filled with pain that they sounded closer to a burning animal than a small child. The maggots poured out of her flesh, devouring her in the smallest of bites. Eating their host from the inside out. Maggots spilled out of the bars of the crib and onto Kassydie's dress and shoes.

Kassydie screamed, though it was inaudible over Jamie's.

Kassydie couldn't help her. It was all her fault that Jamie was dying from her horrible affliction and Kassydie wished for the comfort of the deepest pits of purgatory. Anything to get her away from the gruesome scene before her. Jamie, being eaten alive by the spawn of flies, dead even as she breathed, conscious as her skin burst into crawling larvae.

Kassydie's throat felt raw and her ears were ringing and she realized she was still screaming, forcing each breath of air she pulled in away from her body into a shrill shriek of stupefaction. She couldn't escape this. This was her hell. She had died and gotten what she deserved for all that she'd done.

Without warning Kassydie felt long, strong arms wrap around her trembling frame. Silence finally rang through out her hell and she realized she'd stopped screaming, that Jamie had too. Which must mean Jamie had died. Kassydie looked up to see who was naive and stupid enough to pity her. Who cared enough about such a monster to attempt to comfort her?

Green eyes peered down at her from beneath a brushing of blond bangs.

"Jareth," She gasped between sobs.

He nodded and pressed her close to him. "It's not real, Kassydie." He tried to reassure her. "None of what you're seeing is real. You have to wake up."

Kassydie shook as he held her, her fingers tangled into the complicated lace on his shirt. "I can't," She sobbed, "I can't wake up, this hell won't release me, I can't." Her voice tapered into a hoarse whisper.

Jareth shook his head, "Kassydie, you don't have a choice. You are going to wake up. You must get out of here."

She trembled at his words. She'd give anything to be out of this place, anything. The Goblin King. The real live Jareth, holding her. She felt guilty at the warm feeling that filled her. She breathed evenly, inhaling his intoxicating scent. It was the warm scent of autumn whispering against the heavy perfume of the sun. Kassydie wondered distantly if it was a Glamour. Jareth's arms tightened possessively around her, the sensation was thrilling, as if he'd claimed her just for his own and yet his touch was gentle, as if he were waiting for her to accept him. He ran his gloveless hands through her long, silky hair. Kassydie tilted her head up to him and Jareth leaned down to her.

Just as his lips barely brushed against her own, Kassydie woke up, wet and sore, on the sand, staring up at the shifting night sky of Underground.

*^*%*^*

Jareth had been ripped from Kassydie's nightmare. She must have woken up. He looked out of his window, seething with frustration. Would he ever get to kiss her? He longed to feel her soft lips molding against his own, he wanted to let his hands roam over her soft curves, woven freshly into womanhood. Jareth wanted to feel every one of those curves pressed up against him. He wanted to fold her into his arms and never let go.

With a silent moan Jareth pushed away from the window and forced himself to stop thinking such thoughts. He wanted to own and dominate her but only when she wanted to be owned and dominated by him. What a thought! He wanted to be _allowed_ to control Kassydie. He yearned for her own lips to say the command that would make her his. Jareth had never felt this way before. He was the Goblin King. Women tripped over themselves to offer their hearts and bodies to his whims, to his wants and desires. He did _not_ fall head over heels to offer himself to a woman! Jareth looked up at his expensive decorations, tapestries and portraits and vases. Surrounded by such beauty and yet it paled in comparison to the deep blue eyes that spellbound him.

"Damn her," He cursed under his breath. She tortured him so! He plucked a crystal ball from the air and rolled it over his hands and arms, he let the motion soothe him. He let it roll still into his hand and looked into it. There was Kassydie, on the shore of Pandora's Pond, wet and unconscious and _not_ dreaming. But she had escaped. How had she done it? None had ever been able to before. Was it because he himself had urged her to wake? Surely not. The Pond only swallowed beings, it didn't listen even to it's 'master'.

The Goblin King wondered what horrors she had seen. He noticed she had been in Jamie's room when he'd found her but details went unnoticed. Kassydie, trembling and vulnerable on the floor, was all he had seen. Pandora's Pond created scarring images and feelings better left buried. He knew because he'd made it to be so.

The kelpie knelt next to her on the sand and Jareth found a growl escaping his lips before he'd noticed the hot jealousy within himself. He watched as the kelpie tenderly lifted Kassydie into his lap, he softly brushed stray strands of wet hair away from her. His lips moved in soft, reassuring sounds as he tried to coax her into the land of waking.

Jareth watched as Kassydie woke with a start. Shock flew across her face before she buried herself into the kelpie's chest. She shook with sobs as he stroked her back and rocked her gently. The poisonous jealousy infected his veins. How dare the gatekeeper hold his Kassydie so intimately! The kelpie's love for her was sickeningly obvious on his face. Something would have to be done about this. Jareth's hands shook with building rage. He would take care of this. His treacherous gatekeeper would not get out of his control.

Kassydie seemed to calm down. The dryad with her gasped and pointed at her, noting markings on her neck. Kassydie gingerly lifted her fingers to probe the skin and winced at the pain it caused her. She made all three of her companions turn around as she lifted the skirt of her wet dress. Jareth watched as she revealed her perfect legs and the charming print of her strawberry panties, his amusement ended in a gasp when he saw the deep purple marks that bruised her soft, pale skin. It looked as if someone had dug their hands into her smooth stomach in an attempt to rip her apart. He watched as Kassydie tentatively brushed her hands over them. Her expression was a mixture of curiosity, sorrow, guilt, and terror. She let her skirts fall back to brush at her ankles as Jareth realized the bruises must have come from her nightmare in the pond.

The kelpie and the dryad were by her side again, giving her soft reassurances as the salamander nuzzled gently at her neck, licking her new bruises.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie couldn't believe it even when she saw the bruises for herself, when she felt their sting. Her dream, this proved it had been real. She looked over at the pond, not hearing the gentle words of her friends as she looked into the writhing inkiness of the pond. The surface was smooth as glass and yet the pond seemed to be moving. She looked closer. The water seemed so odd. She looked down at her hands, at her dress, and began screaming anew.

How had she not noticed? Her dress was stained deep red and the color dripped from her hair, rolled down her skin. She tasted iron on her lips. Water? This wasn't water. It was blood!

"Kassydie, shhh," Sange pleaded, it was obvious he had noticed. It would explain his sheer panic when she'd first woken up. Apparently he'd thought nothing of the blood once he had been assured that it was not her own.

Kassydie shook her head. She whimpered, looking at the blood in the pond. It still looked like it was moving. She quieted to hiccupping sobs and was able to confirm why the pond looked to be in motion. Beneath the surface, so deep that it was hardly noticeable at all, things writhed and thrashed beneath the water, as if angry that their treasure had been ripped away from it's slimy clutches.

"Sange, it's blood!" She cried against him, "There's something in it! Something below!"

Esten peered at the water as Sange held Kassydie. He gasped and his eyes widened. "We'd ahll bettah go nao!" He said, pushing at them, "Thar's a thin in thar an Ai don't think et means anie good!"

Sharrick hissed at the water. The slimy vines burst from the surface and they all ran into the 'safety' of the appalling labyrinth. They ran away from the danger that is Pandora's Pond.

Kassydie led them deeper into the maze, the stone walls around them were unidentifiable from one turn to the next.

Just as the blood that clung to Kassydie began to get sticky, a clock began to toll.

**I know I am the absolute worst for taking far too long with this! I feel awful! I also feel as if it wasn't quite horrifying enough but maybe I'm just immune to it. Please, please tell me what you thought! ^w^ I can't wait to hear all of your reviews and comments about it! I've got four more hours to write, and no idea what to fill them with! -OoO- Any suggestions will be taken with the highest regard and I'll try to put them into the story so that I can fluff up the chapters! I'll try really really hard to get the next chapter up as quick as I can! Please bear with your horrible author while school tries to kill her, one paper cut at a time!**

**Edit: I fixed my scene spacers! ((Scene Spacer=*^*%*^*)) I can't believe they haven't been working lately! It makes me so mad! I feel like a fanfic noob! It must have been unnecessarily hard to read! But it's all better now! Again, I'm so sorry I didn't notice!  
**


	12. 10th Hour

**I loved all of the reviews on the last chapter! Each one is really encouraging! Actually, I've been thinking about printing them out and taping them to my locker. /" I'm not sure where I'm going with this chapter so please bear with me! I'm going to definitely try to make this chapter ten thousand words! ((My constant goal for each chapter...))**

Kassydie leaned forward and retched over the cold stones at her knees. Someone held her hair back as the heaves grew dry and just hurt. Kassydie gasped for a breath over the volatile scent of acid. Someone stroked her back gently, she felt Sharrick twisting at her knees and soft, meaningless murmurings. The cool night air helped to soothe her.

She was completely covered in dark brown blood; it saturated her clothes and skin like a disease, like sin. Kassydie stumbled to her feet and away from the acidic puddle she hadn't been able to contain. Her throat hurt, and she remembered the bruises round her neck and on her stomach. She was covered in the sick iron-scented remainder of her most recent ordeal. A dip in a nightmarish pond of blood. The pond had been completely conscious; it had gripped her and infused her with her most terrifying memories and fears. It had refused to let go of her, keeping her in a state of torment as it battered her with cruel terror after cruel terror. Kassydie didn't doubt that it could have lasted forever.

"The book," Kassydie winced, it hurt to speak, and her voice sounded a shade rougher than it should have been.

Esten took the book out of his own pocket. "It fell o't of yer pockit before ya fell into th' pond."

Kassydie gave a relieved sigh and reached for the book before taking note of her hands, crusty with dried blood. "Why don't you keep it for me for awhile?"

Esten's face brightened. He put the book back into his pocket reverently, obviously determined to properly fulfill his new mission. "Ah'll keep et safe, doncha warry!"

Kassydie smiled at the little dryad with his strange accent, "Thanks," She croaked just above a whisper. It hurt so badly to talk. Each word felt like she was swallowing screws.

A strong hand wrapped gently around her shoulders, "Shh," Sange urged gently, the single sound tinted with worry and care, "Don't talk any more, you'll harm yourself."

Kassydie nodded and spoke again anyway, "Whose blood?" She asked, wondering if any of them would know.

Esten shrugged but Sange had an answer.

"It's a drop of blood from every single person ever murdered by a Nightmare."

Kassydie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Nightmares can't kill." She croaked.

Sange gently placed his hand over her mouth. "Stop talking and I'll explain."

Kassydie frowned and nodded.

Sange slowly dropped his hand from her lips.

"Nightmares are creatures thaht possess hum'ns." Esten said before Sange could. Sange nodded and Esten continued. "Sumtimes a person cahn take a path wot makes em so twisted 'n sick in teh head thaht a Nightmare cahn get inside 'n control em. Tha pond is made of thm?"

Sange nodded again, "They can't kill someone without a body to invade. They'll occasionally try to possess people who haven't made an opening for them. That's when you have some of your worse nightmares. It doesn't work unless the person has a really weak mind. But when someone kills and delights in it, it makes them more open to a Nightmare. It creates an opening for them to slip inside. Let's see," Sange tried to think of some famous ones. "Erzsebet Bathory was possessed by a nightmare after her husband died, when she started killing her servants. She had brutally tortured her servants before; when her husband died she cracked enough to let in a Nightmare. Jack the Ripper was possessed by one too, after his first kill but he died soon after that so the police never caught him. He was insane. The Nightmare got in on the first kill. Bind Torture Kill was another. The Nightmare also got into him on the first try."

Kassydie gave a shudder and nodded. It was horrendous to think the creatures that plagued her existed in her own world. The fact that Nightmares also invaded recent hosts scared her more than any of the stories of the older ones. Such a world the creatures helped create!

"Nightmares carry the blood of their victims on them. A single drop from each one. Pandora's pond is made of Nightmares. It's where they stay when they aren't possessing a human. Jareth moved the pond into his labyrinth a few years ago. The High Court detested having it in the middle of their pristine city and Jareth offered to take it off their hands. He wanted it as a greater threat to all those in his kingdom who defied him. The High Court let him take it; they view his kingdom as distasteful because of all the goblins and thought it appropriate for the wretched pond." Sange explained, his expression was tight with hatred. For Jareth, the pond, or the goblins Kassydie couldn't tell.

"I like goblins," Kassydie croaked, wincing yet again and earning an exasperated sigh from Sange.

"Is there a woman alive who can keep her mouth shut for longer than five minutes?"

Kassydie shook her head with a small smile. She looked up at the monotonous sandstone walls, colored gray by the night sky above them. She was completely aware of the blood on her skin, the blood of helpless and tortured victims. She felt sick again and was determined not to vomit. It was an awful feeling and Kassydie was embarrassed that her friends had seen her in such a state. The blood of the victims coated her. The Nightmares had plagued her with her own deaths and had brought back vividly the one she blamed herself for. Murder. It was a sickening and unforgivable thing. The Nightmares in the pond had tormented her with her guilt and her past. The past she so desperately tried to forget. She wished she were like Sora Hashiba, he had forgotten his past. If only Kassydie could be so lucky...

Esten stopped Sange and leaned up to whisper in his ear. Sange looked at him quizzically and then nodded.

"What?" Kassydie felt like she was squawking like a bird..

Esten grinned, "You hafta follow me nao kay? Jes cummon this-a way!"

Kassydie knitted her eyebrows in confusion. It was hard to resist his enthusiasm. But what had he said to Sange? "Um, okay, alright."

Esten smiled at her and took her hand, leading her in the opposite direction of the path she wanted to take, the path she knew would take her closer to Jareth's castle, and closer to saving Jamie.

"Esten, this is the wrong way." Kassydie frowned and Sange raised an eyebrow.

Esten shook his head, "I know wot I'm doin'! Thessis the way we hafta go!"

Kassydie sighed and gave in without a fight. It seemed a little useless when he was so adamant about this. Besides, she didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no. "Will this detour take long?"

Esten shook his head.

He was right. It didn't take very long. Esten knew exactly where he was going and Kassydie memorized every turn and twist they took. The air got wetter and they suddenly stood before a small, sparkling pond. The walls of the labyrinth rose around it and plant life thrived in the crystalline waters. Little blue petals from the plants around the pond littered the surface artfully.

"It used ta be a nymph's pond. Bet she laft it a lon' time ago." Esten explained, smiling up at Kassydie.

Kassydie smiled at the fifty year old boy. "Thank you." She croaked softly, "As soon as I'm clean I'm giving you a big hug." Came the croaky promise coupled with a big smile.

Esten flushed with pride. Kassydie looked at the pond and then Sange. "I'm afraid I'll have to, uh, ask you to leave, Sange."

Sange frowned, "I was planning to but why didn't you say anything to Esten?"

Kassydie shook her head, "He's a kid, that's different."

"I can be a kid too." Sange smirked and shifted his form into a young boy with curly blond hair. The lecherous smile Sange wore didn't suit such a young face.

"Still not gonna happen!" Kassydie scowled and Sange reverted to his usual form with a shrug.

"It's alright!" Esten said, "Sange 'n I have somethin' else to do! Sharrick too."

Kassydie watched them suspiciously as they moved around a corner together. She looked back at the pond with a happy sigh. She was glad to have a way to get the horrid blood off of her.

Kassydie took off her kelpie dress and underclothes and stepped into the pond with her bloody clothes. After washing away most of the blood she draped them on the edge of the pond. Kassydie sank into the surprisingly deep pool. The water was cold and made her shiver but it felt refreshing, especially since she was finally rinsing the blood from herself. She was sad that the clear water was now stained with the sin of murder.

"How is your neck?" Came a voice from behind her.

Kassydie sank lower into the pond and refused to turn around. "Jareth if you don't leave right now I am going to throw rocks at you. And I have very good aim!" She felt that the threat lost momentum at the quiet croak her voice had become.

A deep chuckle echoed off the walls around her. "If I wanted to see your body I could easily view you in one of my crystals. I won't look at you without your permission, I promise."

Another promise from the Goblin King? Kassydie turned around, trusting him. The view was almost as good when he wasn't facing her. Kassydie blushed at her own thought and banished the trail. "You don't want to see my body?" She teased, twisting his earlier words.

"I didn't mean that." The smile was clear in his voice.

"Oh, so you do want to see my naked body?" Kassydie refrained from laughing as she tried to put the Goblin King into an uncomfortable conversation.

"I would like that very much," He said, unfazed.

Kassydie frowned, "You're no fun."

"No?" Jareth asked.

"No." Kassydie confirmed with a sigh. She splashed water into her hair to rinse it better. "You're too cocky to get flustered."

Jareth chuckled. "You didn't answer my question." He said in a more serious tone.

"Hm?" Kassydie asked then remembered, "Oh, my neck. It hurts terribly. And it makes me sound old."

"You don't sound old, you just sound like you're in pain."

"I am in pain." Kassydie muttered unhappily as she stepped out of the pond and put on her soaking underwear and dress. "I'm dressed now. You can turn around." Though she wouldn't mind if he didn't.

Of course, when he turned around Kassydie appreciated the view a little more. Especially with the tight riding pants and the low cut shirt that draped over his chest. He looked fantastic.

Jareth's eyes were on her neck and Kassydie stood awkwardly under his appraising gaze. He stepped closer to her and put his gloved hand near her neck before carefully touching the bruises. Kassydie hissed in pain and jerked away, Jareth's hand snapped back down.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, "I didn't want to hurt you."

Kassydie resisted the urge to put her own hand to her tender neck, "Then why did you touch it?" She complained.

Jareth shook his head, "To feel if it was raised very much, to be sure there are no deeper injuries than the skin. I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Thanks," Kassydie accepted, "Though I don't see how you can feel anything through those stupid gloves, why do you wear them?"

Jareth looked at the gloves. He liked his gloves. He looked back at Kassydie, "How badly does it hurt?"

Kassydie shrugged, "No worse than the other bruises I suppose." Except for when she talked.

Some kind of gentle pity passed in his eyes. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

Kassydie glared at him. "I wouldn't have been hurt at all if you hadn't made me travel your stupid labyrinth. Why am I in here, Jareth? I didn't mean to wish Jamie away! It was just words! Just a better way to tell grandmother's story! How could you take her for such a thing?"

Jareth's expression closed into the kind of expression people used when they didn't want to feel anything. "Your words have power. The meaning behind it didn't matter. The goblins only obeyed you."

"Why won't you give her back?" Kassydie asked, her voice tinted with grief.

Jareth shook his head reluctantly, "I will give her to you when you finish the labyrinth."

"Why. Am I. In here?" Kassydie demanded, miffed that she wasn't getting a straight answer.

"Because you gave Jamie to me with your words and I want her very much. You will have to earn her." Kassydie could see that she had annoyed Jareth with her questions but she didn't care. She was annoyed too. She was very mad that her little sister had been taken and even angrier that she had been forced to relive the grief from her parents' deaths. She wasn't completely mad at Jareth, it was more that she was upset from the emotional trauma she'd been flayed with so recently.

"Every time I turn around my life is threatened." Kassydie stated, her eyes bright with her anger, she thought about the pond and the image of Jamie's disease fractured her line of thought. Tears sparkled in her eyes and she fought not to cry.

The sudden change in her mood took Jareth by surprise and it showed with his concern.

"I watched Jamie rot alive, I watched as the eggs in her bloodstream hatched and began consuming her." Kassydie choked on whatever she was going to say next and closed her eyes against the tears. "How could you make me go through that and not let me even see her? Not let me know she's okay." Kassydie opened her eyes and looked at Jareth, two tears rolled from the corners of her ocean blue eyes and slid down her cheeks. "Do you have any idea how real it all was?" Her hand shot up in a gesture to her neck, "There's a bruise on my stomach to. It wasn't just a nightmare, it was real! And in that pond Jamie was really dying the most horrible death on this planet! I want my sister, give her to me!"

Jareth looked down, unable to look her in the eye for his pity and his shame. Kassydie had actually shamed him. "The agreement we made at this journey's start is binding. I cannot give her to you unless you solve the labyrinth."

"I wanna see her," Kassydie whispered.

Jareth held his hand out and a necklace dangled from it. A golden barn owl balancing a clear crystal sphere between its wings, swinging on a delicate chain of silver and gold.

Kassydie recognized it immediately. She looked at the necklace as if it were a cursed thing sent to do her harm. She began to piece her life together in a new way. This was the very same necklace she had thrown into her grandmother's grave, just before they covered the lonely casket with dirt. She remembered precisely how it glinted at the bottom of the wretched resting place of her grandmother's body, how the owl shone in the bright sunlight. The necklace she'd worn everyday since she was fifteen, what she had presumed was from her grandmother. The one she'd found on her fifteenth birthday, around the neck of a goblin plush that she'd kept on her bed since she received it. She'd always thought they'd been gifts from her grandmother. It was why she'd dropped the necklace into the grave.

And that day, there had been a barn owl, curiously unafraid of her as she planted the flowers for her grandmother. Tears flowed freely from Kassydie's eyes, though these were of anger.

"You!" She accused and Jareth looked taken aback. "How long have you known me?"

Jareth looked her in the eyes, "Since you were born," He admitted, choosing to answer her question rather than avoid it. Was it a mistake?

Kassydie yanked the necklace from his hand and thrust it into his face, "I buried this with my grandmother, you know full well!"

The king's eyes narrowed, "It is in my power to retrieve the gifts I create."

"You dug up her grave?" Kassydie looked horrified.

Jareth held up his hand and a crystal appeared on his fingers. "I willed it!" He exclaimed, frustrated with her.

"You damn creeper! How long have you watched me you pervert! You! You psychotic pedophile!"

Jareth glared at her, "I had no interest in you. I loved Sarah! She banished me from her, I could be nothing more than an owl in her presence. Do you have any idea what it's like? To have no power around the one you love, even to talk to them? So much I wanted to explain to her! But I couldn't stay away from her. I watched her, I watched her raise her family. I watched her raise her only son. Then I watched her raise you." Jareth looked Kassydie in the eyes, imploring her to understand. "She so wanted a little girl in her life but she was unable to have children after your father. You have no idea how happy you made her. She loved you so much, and worried over you when your mother died. I wanted to watch over you for her. When Sarah was fifteen I gave her the adventure she dreamed of but she had grown out of it by the time she defeated me. I had to do something to show her I still cared."

"Why am I here?" Kassydie sat down and hugged her knees, resting her forehead on them. "I'm here because you love my grandmother. You can't let her go." Kassydie was angry again, "You think you love me." She stood up angrily and draped the necklace over her head. "You think you love me because I was my grandmother's, don't you!"

"That's not true." Jareth shook his head. Kassydie stormed closer to him, anger glistening in her deep blue eyes.

"I will not be-," Kassydie hissed in pain as she tried to yell at him. It hurt! She spoke quieter but it seemed to simmer with more anger than she could have managed yelling, "I will not be your rebound. My grandmother never loved you and you can't accept that. No one's ever been blunt with you, you're spoiled! Sarah didn't love you no matter what you did for her or how you tried to charm her! You amused her! She used you for the fun you were then and moved on. She never spoke of you until I found that book."

Jareth was quiet. Was she right? About everything? He had never been spoken to like this before. He had come here, planning to frighten her into fighting by giving her the necklace. He revealed to her his presence in her life in an effort to sway her into focusing more on him than on Jamie. It hadn't worked a bit.

"Kassydie, I-"

"Shut up!" She snapped at him, fighting valiantly against her tears. "Leave me alone. I don't want to see you again until I kick your ass in your castle and take Jamie home. And I don't want to see you again after that."

She heard a voices in the labyrinth and turned to them for a moment. When she turned around again, Jareth was gone.

"Kassydie!" Esten called happily and ran to her. Kassydie turned to him with a smile.

"Hey." She greeted then looked at Sange. He was carrying something purple.

"Sorry it took so long!" Esten was jumping up and down excitedly. "We had to go pretty far to find the flow'rs!"

"Flowers?" Kassydie inquired.

Sange smiled at her and Sharrick purred like crackling fire. "We made you a new dress."

He straightened it out and Kassydie gasped. It was a simply designed dress that would stretch to her ankles and it was all the prettier for it. The dress was made of small five petaled flowers woven tightly together.

"It's amazing!" Her eyes teared up, "Thank you so much!" She leaned down and gave Esten his promised hug. Esten hugged her back and parted them like a big man. Kassydie chuckled.

"I used my mahgic to make the flowars strong'r! 'N Sharrick used hah fire to help them stay in place! And Sange sewed it! He's real quick! Like a lady." He teased.

Sange glared at him. "Hush you little shrub." He sighed and held the dress out to Kassydie, "Here, it will fit you." He assured her.

He turned around as soon as Kassydie took it from him and Esten followed suit politely. It didn't take Kassydie long to remove the bloody dress and put on the new one very, very carefully. When she had it on she was surprised at how sturdy it felt. She lifted the hem and gave a sharp tug. The flowers didn't tear like she expected them to. They were stronger than woven wool. It was absolutely amazing. It was also the most comfortable dress Kassydie had ever worn.

"It won't wilt will it?" Kassydie asked.

Esten turned and grinned, "Never!" He promised.

Sange smiled gently at her. "You look beautiful."

Kassydie flushed at the emotion in his tone. "Thanks." She said a bit shyly. She watched him look quizzically at her necklace and was grateful he didn't say anything. She thought about Jareth. She had been angry with him, had she been too harsh? She felt cruel to have said so bluntly her grandmother hadn't loved him, even if it was true. Something he'd said had bothered her. It felt important.

"Thank you guys. I love it. Now I feel like I can conquer anything!" Kassydie smiled and Sange and Esten laughed. Kassydie led them away from the blood pink pond and closer to Jareth's castle.

*^*%*^*

Jareth stormed through his corridors filled with a nameless rage. He threw everything he could grab, letting them smash into his walls. He was throwing a tantrum but it was break the china or break the goblins. Who was he mad at? When he thought of Kassydie, inching closer to him with a hot fire burning in her deep blue eyes his anger calmed a bit. He didn't understand, if he wasn't mad at her who was he mad at? Himself? Preposterous! But what she'd said... That Sarah had never loved him. It certainly felt that way, that she couldn't ever have loved him. Why? He'd tried so hard! She had been beautiful and fierce, everything he wanted in his Queen. He slumped down into one of his many armchairs. His anger had exhausted itself as quickly as it had been fed.

Sarah. Sarah Williams. She was so beautiful in the park that day. He had often watched her play. By the fairytale bridge, her dress trying to cling to the jeans underneath as she recited lines from her favorite book. His book, actually. It was about him, any way. He remembered how sweet she had looked then, how innocent and very easily corruptable. Her fairytale state was so _easy_ to break! Like the delicate skin of a bubble, bursting after just a little while.

Was that why he couldn't have had Sarah? In the end, she had matured far beyond what he had ever expected. Jareth had wanted to make her stronger and a little wiser. But, she had exceeded his expectations and then him. She hadn't wanted him at all. He'd been her villain and she saw only that. Kassydie had been right, Sarah had never loved him. She'd been infatuated, certainly, but she had never understood him, nor felt the need to.

And now Kassydie didn't want him! Jareth felt hot with the rage again. This was where it had come from! From Kassydie's cruel words as she demanded that he leave her alone, that he wait for her in the castle. He had been banished again and in a whole new way! It wasn't the poetic sense of justice Sarah had banished him with. But Kassydie had demanded he leave her alone forever with the blunt hotness of a woman scorned. He was angry with himself after all. He couldn't get her to understand! She didn't understand at all, nor did she try! She thought his feelings for her were so shallow that he was simply trying to replace Sarah with her. How could that even be possible? How could Kassydie ever think so little of herself as to suppose that she could simply replace someone? Especially Sarah?

Kassydie far exceeded Sarah. Sarah had been selfish and young, naive and trusting, and she had been beautiful for it. But Kassydie? She was marred by her tragedy, she had every right to crawl into a whole and give up but she never did. She always tried to be stronger. Kassydie was fierce in a way Sarah never could have been, even with her loss. Jareth admired the fact that no matter what happened to her, Kassydie looked for a better way to view it. It was a fascinating process to watch. Kassydie took on new identities from the characters she admired to deal with her grief but eventually came out of the shell with a better understanding of herself and of her losses. Her ingenuity and luck had taken her so far in the labyrinth meant for his enemies.

He had often wished in the beginning that he had never agreed not to alter the labyrinth while she was in it. He had done so before Sarah had arrived. He hadn't expected Kassydie, hadn't had time to make his labyrinth safe. He could have done it while she traveled it, but she had made him promise not to. Every time he thought he would lose her she came out of her predicament with more power.

Kassydie was absolutely wrong. He loved her. More than he had ever thought he could love someone. He couldn't lose her, in any way. He simply wouldn't be able to go on. He needed Kassydie! He was ready to admit it now, to see the faults that love showed in him. His jealousy, his selfishness, and his inexperience with love. He'd never thought so before. He could charm any woman, easily. But how hard it was to gain love! Infatuation, he realized, was far different from love. He had been infatuated with Sarah, and he loved Kassydie.

He would do as she had asked, and stay away from her until she reached his castle. But when she arrived to him, he would make her understand how he felt for her, how much he loved her.

"Aaaah!" Came the foreign sound of a screaming baby. Jareth jumped in startled surprise. Jamie? She was awake? He lurched out of his chair and to Jamie's nursery. He lifted her from the crib.

"Shh," He coaxed, "Shh, hush now, hush." He begged as Jamie's face splotched red with her crying.

What had Kassydie seen? She had sort of described it to him, the paraphrased description had been horrible. To see this child's pink skin blacken with decay, to watch crawling maggots devour her warm flesh as her soft brown curls dampened and darkened with the cold sweat of death. He hugged the baby close in horror. How cruel of him to keep the child from Kassydie after she'd seen that!

Jamie was whimpering with the exhaust from crying and whatever had plagued her. Jareth held her slightly away from him so he could inspect her big green eyes. This child had the eggs of a parasite flowing through her blood? It was a nightmarish thought. It was a horribly unfair sin for that to happen to such a sweet and lovely little girl. But, that was just the way things were.

"Jamie, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" He asked gently, willing an orb of light into existence to cast a warm, safe glow over them. The light above flickered just like a candle.

Jamie sniffled and sobbed again. "Kashry's died!" She wailed.

Jareth shook his head and looked at Jamie in sorrow. Such an unspeakable horror to dream of! "No, my darling, no!" He quickly reassured her, "She isn't dead. Look, here she is." He pulled Kassydie's image into an orb and presented it to Jamie.

She looked at the orb in awe and this seemed to ease her fears. "Kashry's a princiss."

Jareth looked at the picture of the woman in the orb. She did look like a princess from a fairytale. Marching forward with her entourage of servants in her lovely dress of flowers. What an amazing creation she wore.

"But princesses are helpless." Jareth protested with a gentle smile.

Jamie shook her brown curls and focused on the orb with a sort of determination. "Nanuh! Zelda isnnn!"

"Zelda?" Jareth was puzzled. The name was familiar... Wait, he'd seen it on Kassydie's video game discs. "The video game?"

Jamie smiled and nodded, "Kashry watched to me her."

"Oh did she? And you liked watching Zelda?" Jareth asked, amused by Jamie's vocabulary. He was also quite amused with the fact that Kassydie had made Jamie familiar to her own passions.

Jamie nodded and grinned at Kassydie with her little white teeth. "I want Kashry."

Jareth nodded, "She'll be here soon to get you. If you go to sleep, she'll be here sooner, you won't even notice the time."

Jamie blinked sleepily and nodded her consent. "Kay. Nighty nighty."

Jareth set her back in the crib, she gripped the crystal in her tiny hands. "Good night, Jamie."

Jamie nodded and fell back asleep.

Jareth left, willing the light out. "Zelda, hm?" He chuckled once more.

He couldn't be mad at Kassydie. Not really. She was full of so many unexpected changes. She fascinated him beyond all else. Her courage endeared her to him. Her absolute kindness and gentle understanding and reasoning for all bad things made him love her. He simply couldn't help it. He felt a great pain when he thought of her words to him. Instructing that he wait for her in his castle, that he not bother her. Did she really mean it? Did she really want him to leave her alone forever? Jareth hoped not. If that was what she expected him to do she would be disappointed. He'd never be able to keep himself from her. He had to have her. She was his and his alone and he couldn't ever bear the thought of losing her. Ever.

He wondered suddenly at the absence of his adviser. He would need to talk his decisions over with his adviser, try to plan out how his love for Kassydie would effect his kingdom, how he could make whatever bad might come of it work out perfectly.

Jareth left his living chambers to find her.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie was feeling more and more awful about what she'd said to Jareth as she traveled further into the labyrinth with her friends. Had she really told him such cruel things? Well, she knew Sarah hadn't loved him, but the way she'd said it! Kassydie played her fingers nervously over the familiar grooves of the owl necklace. He'd said she could see Jamie with it, hadn't he?

She lifted the little orb to her eyes. "I want to see Jamie." She said to it.

Sange looked at her compassionately, "You're almost there, and you'll get her back."

She looked at him confused for a moment before she shook her head and said self-consciously, "I, uh, I was talking to the necklace..."

Sange raised an eyebrow but Esten piped up before he could say anything. "You'll prolly hafta wish it. You didn't hahve thaht earlier. Where's it come from?"

Kassydie smiled nervously, "It's a present." She focused on the orb again, "I wish to see Jamie." Immediately the tiny image of Jamie in an antique looking crib flowed into the crystal. Jamie was peacefully asleep in the image, and Kassydie felt a strain she hadn't noticed before lift away from her at the sight of her baby sister's healthy pink cheeks. Which looked crusty with dried salt. But the sight soothed Kassydie's raw nerves more than anything could have. She felt a pang of guilt and pain for what she'd said to Jareth.

"She's been crying!" Kassydie frowned disapprovingly. "What's he been doing to you?"

Sange leaned over to look at the orb. "When did you get that?"

"When I was fifteen."

"You didn't have it when we met, nor when we left you at the spring."

"That's, um, cuz Jareth, uh, he gave it back." Kassydie smiled innocently, trying to deflect his coming anger with her most charming expression.

Sange was enraged nonetheless. "What? How long as he been contacting you! Why didn't you tell us?"

Kassydie frowned, "It didn't matter! He showed up for Grandma all the time! It's none of your business so stop being so nosy!"

Sange parted his lips to retort but stopped, glowing with rage. "What's wrong with you? You always defend him! He's trying to distract you! He's just trying to charm you so you'll give up fighting him!"

Kassydie glared, "I can take care of myself! I don't need you dictating my life!"

Sange drew back as if she'd slapped him. Anger simmered in his bright silver eyes. "If that's how you want it."

Esten looked up at Kassydie warily, "Why didn' you tell us? Don' you trust us?"

Kassydie looked at him and tried to explain, "I-I do, Esten! Of course! It's just not important."

"You can take care of yourself then?" Sange glared, "Fine. I don't see how you could have made it this far but, fine."

Kassydie shook her head as Sange turned to leave her, "Sange, no! I didn't mean it like that! Of course, I owe you my life! I didn't mean it like that!"

Sange turned around, striding threateningly close until she was pressed to a wall, then closing the space between them so he was just a breath away, looking into her eyes, "What did you mean then?"

Kassydie fumbled for an answer, "I-I just meant, I don't know, just that, with Jareth I won't, you know, I mean... With him, I don't need protection, er, not like that I mean, I don't need a guard from...him, you know?"

"And why not?" Sange asked, leaning closer.

"He can't just charm me with his good looks and his title." Kassydie worked to sound defiant and unafraid but pressed nervously back into the wall. He was so close! Why was he getting so close?

"Any woman can be charmed with good looks." Sange tilted his head slightly and Kassydie froze, he leaned and Kassydie felt his next words hot on her lips, "When put into the right circumstances, any woman can be swayed."

He was going to kiss her? Sange? Kassydie had no where farther to go. She wished the wall would open up behind her so she could distance herself from him and think. But what would it be like to kiss the kelpie? To kiss the man who had saved her life over and over in this deadly labyrinth? He cared so much about her. What would it be like to kiss Sange?

Sange shifted his arms closer to her head and began to move. Kassydie parted her lips and sucked in a sharp breath, causing Sange to pause.

"I wish the wall would open," Kassydie whispered and immediately fell backwards. Sange flailed to try to keep her from falling and keep himself from crushing her. In the end, Kassydie hit her head on Sange's hand, fairly smashing it into the pavement, and Sange hovered above her in an awkward and slightly uncomfortable looking pose in his attempt to keep his body weight off of her.

"What the hell did you do?" Gasped Sange.

"What the hell were you doing?" Kassydie snapped back, she lifted herself slightly onto her elbows to get her head off his hand, "Get up, I don't like laying here!"

Sange stood gracefully and pulled Kassydie up with him, letting her go once she was on her feet. Esten, content to have watched the whole thing, was holding Sharrick and looking at the new opening in the labyrinth.

Sange looked flustered and said nothing.

Kassydie sighed with exasperation, "That is way too far to go to prove a point!" She huffed and looked at the new opening. "Jeez, why didn't I figure this out before?"

"Wot?" Asked Esten, looking at her curiously.

Kassydie combed her hair behind her ear and stepped into the new opening, "That old goblin, he said I need to open my mind and accept certain powers. And, Jareth told me my words have power. Damn me to Disney Land!" Kassydie swore. This realization would have come in handy a very long time ago. She could control the labyrinth.

Esten and Sange looked at her in shock. Sharrick simply seemed curious as if she'd known this all along. Kassydie rubbed her freshly scraped arm and wondered how much she could control. And if she had to say 'I wish' before everything. Kassydie focused on turning her vocal commands inward, and using the will power and dominance just right, without saying anything. The opening in front of her formed into an arch laced with the strange flowering ivy she had seen earlier in her travels. So, that was, walls and plants. She willed a rabbit to be under the arch but it didn't happen. She couldn't force her will on sentient creatures.

She turned to her friends triumphantly but noticed a flash of hurt in Sange's eyes. "S-Sange?" She wasn't used to the utter vulnerability she'd seen there, "What's wrong?"

The look was gone as quick as it had arrived and he looked at her with a kind smile, "I'm proud of you. That's amazing."

Esten jumped and cheered, Sharrick hoorayed with the sharp pops of excited logs in a fire. "Yaay!" Esten cheered, "Thaht's ahmahssin! Now we cin get yer sister so kwik!"

Kassydie laughed at Esten's cute dialect. "We can just open a straight path to the castle!"

Kassydie focused on the path and a straight hallway, much like the one she'd come into, stretched on. Only this one had a nice big goblin city at the horizon.

Kassydie sprinted forward. Her legs pumped and the dress fought to tangle her legs, her hair whipped around her face as she began dragging each breath into her lungs. She was aware of her friends keeping pace with her, letting her decide their path, what they did. In hindsight, she should have thought her path through a bit more. But she hadn't, and she'd always regret it.

A woman appeared in front of them as suddenly as Jareth would appear behind her. Kassydie stopped as quick as she could and stood, panting, as she looked at the woman.

"Who-" Kassydie panted, fighting not to slouch on her knees, "Who are you?"

The woman tossed back waves of silky blond hair and her cruel red lips peeled into a smile. She swung a hand up to her waist and tilted her hips to the side, effortlessly enunciating her porn star curves.

"Your worst of nightmares," She said in a charming voice that lilted pleasantly, like a song bird on a spring morning.

Kassydie shook her head, "No. I don't like you but I'll give you this, you're far lovelier than my worst nightmares."

The woman clicked her tongue, "Cheeky."

Suddenly she had crossed the eight feet between them and grabbed up Kassydie by the collar of her flower dress. Kassydie looked at her sharp canines and the blood lust in the woman's ice blue eyes. She gasped with realization. This chick was a vampire? What was a vampire doing in fairy land?

The woman leaned in and licked Kassydie's neck, "Only this time." She said cruelly. "Maybe next time I'll be something scarier."

Kassydie felt her lips open over her skin. She was going to bite her! In a flash of inspiration Kassydie opened her mouth wide and clamped down with all her might on the flesh of the woman's neck.

"Gaah!" The blond screamed and shoved Kassydie to the ground as she backed up, her hand to her bleeding neck.

Kassydie scrunched her face in distaste and spat. She scrambled up and shuffled backwards. A wall, twelve feet high, appeared between them and the vampire. Sange and Esten looked ill, Sharrick sort of did to. Her bright, fiery reds had dulled to the glow of embers. Kassydie scooped up Sharrick and began running the other way.

"Come on!" Her voice seemed to wake Sange and Esten from their stupor. They cast each other a slightly panicked glance and followed after Kassydie.

Kassydie opened the maze to them again and ran inside of it. Trying to lose herself but the wicked witch's laughter echoed behind them. She was toying with them, hunting them. Kassydie's 'flight' decision was obviously not going to work. She'd have to fight.

Kassydie stopped and turned around. Sange was next to her.

"Please, let's keep running." His voice sounded desperate and pleading.

Esten tugged at Kassydie's wrist, "You don' wahnt ta stay." He whispered, his voice sounding haunted. Sharrick nuzzled at her arms, trying to get her to let go.

"I have to defeat her," Kassydie said, just as she strolled around the corner.

"How cute." The wicked blond cooed. She leveled her icy gaze on the four of them.

"Sorry, not into girls." Kassydie smiled sassily. If she could keep the woman talking, she'd have enough time to think up a plan, and more witty one-liners.

The woman made a soft 'hmph' at Kassydie's efforts to appear nonchalant. "Your innocence." She said, taking a step to the left as she began to circle Kassydie. "The sweet ease with which you give away your trust."

Kassydie turned her feet to keep facing the predator. "Who says it was easy?"

"Do you know who they are?" She taunted. She had circled the slightest bit closer and Kassydie stepped the slightest bit back as she turned.

"Sange, Esten, and Sharrick." Kassydie glared at her and glanced at her friends. What could she do? Could she keep this up until sunrise? It should be within the next hour or so, seeing as it was summer...

"Sange and Esten are me." She laughed.

Kassydie bit her lip. Could that be true? Could they be her? If they were, well, they weren't trying to kill her. They'd have managed that by now. "Not right now they aren't."

"If I touch them, they will be me again." She smiled cruelly.

Kassydie chanced a look at Sange again. His face was tight with strain and his eyes looked tortured. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Kassydie shook her head, "But I met your mother."

He shook his head, "Loriella is the mother of all kelpies."

"She said she was five hundred..."

"She's five hundred kelpie years, she's fifty thousand of yours." Sange looked away. "She treats all kelpies as if she raised them."

Kassydie looked at Esten. "Esten, you said the king let you live in the forest."

Esten's eyes were brimmed with tears. "He does."

"But...you said your family was dead." Kassydie was confused.

Esten nodded, "They are." He whispered.

Kassydie looked back at the blond. She was smiling cruelly, enjoying every moment of this.

Kassydie smiled at her friends, shock was played over the woman's face. "I forgive you for your deceit. Forgive me for my lack of understanding."

Sange wrapped his arms over her and Esten held her hand. "There's nothing to forgive," Sange whispered into her hair.

The blond cackled, "Sange! You fell in love! In love with a human? In one of my bodies?" She looked at him like he was lower than dirt. "When I take you back I shall never be a kelpie again!"

"Open the oubliette," Sange whispered into her ear.

The blond's eyes widened, "No!" She shrieked. But Kassydie had opened the floor, the tiles swallowing them and closing over before she'd even had a chance to move.

Kassydie's head pressed against something soft and very hot, she felt Esten's little body on top of her.

"Sharrick!" The salamander complained and Kassydie lifted her head to let her free. Esten rolled off of her and Kassydie scooted backwards but quickly bumped into Sange.

"Sorry," Kassydie muttered, Sange wrapped his arm around her to keep her from leaving him. "Uh, Sharrick, can you make a flame?"

There was a hum of flame sucking up oxygen and the cavern of the oubliette around them lit up in the amber glow of salamander fire.

"Thanks, uh, Sange...?"

"I don't want to let go." He admitted in a low voice.

Kassydie bit her lip, she had never been in a more awkward situation in her life. "What did she mean, 'take you back'?"

Esten scooted closer, "We're a multi-form. If we tach our origin or our form of tha othar gender, we combine."

"Combine?"

"Into one soul." Sange said against her hair, keeping her close to him. Kassydie felt weird against him, knowing that he was in love with her. "We split our soul into pieces and form a new body to keep it. We are the ultimate being. We can be everywhere and do anything." There seemed to be a deeper suggestion behind that, the hint made Kassydie shudder.

"So, you could absorb her? Then she'd stop trying to kill me?" Kassydie wondered.

"I-" Sange started.

"He wouldn' love ya." Esten said.

Sange nodded, "If we combined we'd be a different soul, different body. Our previous goals would be erased, and our previous relationships would be non-existant."

"You'd forget me?"

"Never!" Sange promised, holding her tighter. "Never, we never forget. We always remember our pasts, we just don't feel the same about them. Never twice."

"You don't want to stop loving me?"

Sange shook his head, his vulnerability scared her.

"Even if I loved someone else?" Kassydie asked.

Sange let his long hair shadow his expression, "Even then."

Kassydie's eyes teared. She loved Sange and Esten both. In the same way. She felt horrible that she wasn't in love with Sange like he was with her. She felt like the worst of teases and the worst of friends. "Sange you have to let go of me."

Even though she felt bad about it, she couldn't force herself to love him.

Sange nodded, his arms opened and freed her. Kassydie turned around and kissed his forehead. She turned to Esten and kissed him in the same place, then hugged the little dryad. Even though they were part of one soul, they were each their own person.

"I love you both." She looked at Esten then focused on Sange, "But I couldn't be in love with you."

Sange nodded sadly then his expression closed, "She knows where we are. She will as long as we do." He and Esten exchanged looks.

Kassydie nodded, "Do you trust me?"

Both of them nodded warily, not exactly showing the full on faith Kassydie had hoped for.

"Close your eyes, and neither of you think." They did, Kassydie guided them both up and linked her arms through both of theirs. She looked down at Sharrick.

"I'll make a path, please, keep our way lit." Sharrick nodded dutifully and Kassydie took her friends underneath the labyrinth. She had to get back up, she couldn't tell where she was in relation to the castle. She angled the trail up and soon a light besides Sharrick's filled the tunnel. Sange and Esten kept their eyes shut, trusting Kassydie completely.

Kassydie came up in a hedged courtyard. She seemed to be about the same distance from the castle as before the vampire had interrupted them. Kassydie tried to shift the hedges to her will but it didn't work. Sentient bushes? How odd. As long as they didn't try to eat her.

"We'll have to work harder now." Kassydie told her companions. "Can she tell where we are if we're traveling a maze?"

"Doubt it." Sange said. "I have no knowledge of the mazes."

Esten nodded. "Nor 'ave I."

"Open your eyes," Kassydie permitted. "We should be safe away from her."

"But you aren't." Came the familiar lilt.

Kassydie spun around, Esten, Sange, and Sharrick turned with her.

"How, dammit?" Kassydie demanded.

"Esten knew he turned east, west, north, west, north-east, south, and east. I followed above ground, patiently." Her lips slid into a smile to show off her deadly fangs.

"I'm sorry!" Esten cried and burst into tears.

Kassydie wrapped an arm around him but kept her eyes on the woman, "You couldn't help it."

The woman lunged for Kassydie and Kassydie twisted around but ran straight into the hedges. They twisted around her and held her, tightening when she struggled. They didn't seem to want to eat her like the other vines had, just simply hold her to them, like a decoration. The woman was on her in seconds, she immediately sank her teeth into Kassydie's throat and began pulling her blood out of her. Kassydie screamed at the sickening feeling. She felt like she was being robbed. The pain was deeper than the sting, magnified by her already bruised neck. Kassydie felt the drain pull straight from her heart. The blood burned it's way to the woman's lips. Kassydie knew it could only have been seconds but it had felt like an eternity when she was finally jerked away. Kassydie cried out again as the woman's teeth tore out of her neck. Strong vines of ivy twisted around the woman.

"Go away!" Esten commanded, obviously the controller of the ivy that was wrapping around the woman.

Kassydie was limp with the drain though the woman hadn't taken much of her blood. Kassydie sighed and let her head hang.

She tore the vines off of her. "No. Come here."

Esten stepped back. "If we join, you won't wanna hurt her!"

"Wanna bet?" She smiled coyly. Esten looked worried. He wasn't sure.

Kassydie tried weakly to ease her wrists out of the vines, knowing she had to get free, but it wasn't working, she tried to bite them next.

Kassydie willed the rocks beneath the vampire to cave in but she jumped from them and there was simply a hole where she had been. She darted to her and slapped Kassydie across the face hard enough to bring tears stinging to her eyes.

Kassydie hated being slapped. She willed a tree into existence, as soon as she thought it, the tree grew over the woman, covering her completely.

Sange and Esten sighed in relief. Sharrick watched the tree carefully. Sange ran to Kassydie's side and began working on the vines. Esten went over to the tree and touched it with his palm, listening to what it had to 'say'.

Sange looked with worry at her neck, still trickling blood. He tore the hem of his shirt and tied it snug around her neck to help staunch the blood flow. Kassydie hissed slightly in pain as it tightened on her bruises but it wasn't too bad after that. Sange brushed his hand gently along her jaw line, smiling apologetically.

"It's a shame to take you out of this position." He teased her, attempting to lighten her mood.

Kassydie flushed and tried to shift her legs into a more modest position, didn't work. Sange started at her ankles, letting his fingers linger over her legs.

"You're too forward!" Kassydie complained and tried to wiggle away. She was feeling a bit stronger as the blood flow from her neck slowed to a thin drip.

Sange kissed her leg and continued to work on the vines. Kassydie squealed in surprise and blushed deeper.

"The cat's out of the bag. You don't love me now. But I can try." Sange smiled at her, his silver eyes flashed beautifully in the moonlight. "Now be still, you're only making them tangle worse and I can't exactly go ripping and tearing."

"Why not?" Kassydie frowned.

Sange looked back to her leg, "It hurts them."

Kassydie felt bad for suggesting the ripping and tearing, "Why aren't they attacking you?"

Esten looked at her apologetically, "They, ahm, like flowars."

Kassydie frowned but it turned into a shriek as an arm burst from the tree and grabbed Esten around the neck.

"Esten!" Kassydie screamed, jerking forward. Sange moved to him but he had already dissolved into the hand, his soul had melded with the vampire's.

Sange did his best to move faster. Whispering to the vines to help them get out of the way and let Kassydie go.

A small brown head popped from the tree trunk. The little girl had very long auburn hair and when she looked up, her eyes were yellow, like a cats. She grinned, showing that she was a vampire, and she still wanted to kill Kassydie.

"Oh the fond memories of you." The voice was totally different, young and sweet sounding. "Too bad they didn't compare to Jeanne's hatred, or mine. Poor Esten, no more, and he can never be again."

Tears streamed down Kassydie's cheeks. She wanted to break out of them but she had to depend on Sange to get her loose. The girl continued to claw her way from the tree. Sharrick jumped in front of her and began burning the tree, her flame hot as it erupted from her little muzzle. The vampire child's burning skin and hair regenerated almost as fast as Sharrick burned her and the tree. She leaned into her flames as the child began making her way through the tree.

"You're blood will be so sweet." She smiled cruelly and the hatred in the smile was just wrong on the sweet young face framed by auburn waves.

"What did you do to Esten?" Kassydie demanded with a sob.

"He is me now!" The girl declared, kicking at the tree. "And he will never be again! That's what happens." The girl smiled, knowing this knowledge would hurt Kassydie. Esten was as good as dead. He'd been reabsorbed into another part of his soul but he could never be created again, none of the souls could.

Sange quickened his pace but it was obvious he wouldn't be able to release her fast enough for them to run away. The child broke through the tree and picked up Sharrick.

"Stop burning me!" The girl screeched, clenching Sharrick around the neck and choking off the fire. A thick stream of smoke steamed from Sharrick's mouth and she struggled to breathe. The vampire child threw Sharrick into the ground away from her. Sharrick lay still where she landed.

"Sharrick!" Kassydie screamed though it burned her bruised throat. Tears dove freely from her face and dotted all over the vines and her dress of flowers.

"Kassydie, I'm sorry." Sange whispered.

Kassydie shook her head. "Run, Sange, please." She begged through her tears. The child was quickly regenerating. She stretched her body in the air as her burnt skin repaired. "I can keep her away long enough to get out!.

The ground underneath the girl rose up into a thick rock cage. Kassydie heard the girl scream her frustration and then the sound of her tearing at the rocks. Kassydie focused on keeping the rock wall rebuilt as she tore it but she tore as quickly as Kassydie could sense the damage and restore it. Quicker actually.

Sange shook his head. "I can't leave you to here and run like a coward."

Kassydie sobbed, "You'll be gone, just like Esten! Please, Sange, please!"

Kassydie struggled to keep the wall up as she saw a tiny hand burst from the rock and begin to shred it all to rubble.

Sange looked back at the hand sadly then turned to Kassydie. He leaned into her and kissed her. His taste mingled with the salt of her tears. He used his lips to part hers and deepen their kiss. His tongue played over hers, urging her to cooperate. Kassydie kissed him back, pretending to fight for dominance and letting him win. Sange made a deep sound in his throat, his hands tangled in her hair and held her as close to him as he could. He ravaged her gentle mouth and Kassydie couldn't have possibly complained. She didn't even want to. Kassydie felt his love as he kissed her desperately, but she couldn't connect to it. He pressed another gentle kiss to her kiss reddened lips and pulled away to look at her, decision in his silver eyes and a little bit of sadness.

"Could you ever have been in love with me?" Sange asked quietly.

"Yes." Kassydie lied with a hurt sob.

His expression eased and love lit is starry eyes. "Thank you for lying."

Kassydie began crying, her chest heaving with her tears.

Sange ran towards the rock prison just as the vampire child burst through the wall, too fast for Kassydie to repair. He used her surprise at seeing him so close to wrap the girl in his arms.

"Nooo!" She shrieked, knowing Sange's love would cancel out her hate where Esten's couldn't.

Sange disappeared, smiling. The girl disappeared too. They had melded together, leaving a tall man in their place. The man wasn't as tall as Sange had been. His hair was red and stretched in a sexy mess to his long, pointed ears. His eyes were a bright lake blue-green. His features were handsome and soft where Sange's had been sharp and Sange's pale skin wasn't even a whisper among this new man's healthily tanned complexion. When he turned his eyes to Kassydie, there was a slight recognition, but no trace of Esten's fondness for her, or Sange's love. There was no hate either, just a simple indifference.

Kassydie hung her head and let her tears flow silently. Sange and Esten were no more. They had been replaced by this strange man. A roughened hand tilted her chin up and Kassydie gasped at the closeness of this person. What was he doing?

He smiled, "Kassydie," He said, slightly unsure, "Tears are unbecoming on a young lady."

Kassydie closed her eyes, the tears didn't stop. She turned her face away from him and hid behind her hair. "I'm sorry." She choked out softly.

She felt a soft tug at the vines on her wrists, she whipped her head around to watch him work nimbly with the vines, almost as if they obeyed his touch they moved away and Kassydie was free. The stranger gently took Kassydie's hand and led her out of the vines.

"S-" She pressed her lips together and gently touched her hand to the reddened strip of cloth tied round her neck, "Sange couldn't do it."

"Kelpies are bad with plants." The strange elf said. "I'm Rodan."

"Th-thank you, Rodan." Kassydie said, her eyes welling up with tears again. "You didn't have to do it. I'm grateful."

Rodan's shoulders slumped, he seemed to have a soft spot for women in tears. Other than a gentleness for Kassydie in her vulnerable state of mourning Rodan was indifferent to her. He politely took her in his arms and gave her a sweet hug.

"They aren't dead."

Kassydie nodded, upset that she was getting her tears on his intricate leather vest. The leather almost overpowered his soft scent of thistle and lavender.

"I still remember you. And I remember how Sange and Esten loved you."

He remembered how Jeanne and the other vampire had hated her too but he didn't say it. Kassydie was grateful he didn't. Rodan looked up at the castle. "If I remember correctly, we are headed to the same place."

Kassydie pulled away from him, embarrassed. She wiped her tears away. There would be time to mourn her friends later. "Sharrick!" Kassydie exclaimed and ran to the poor creature. She'd forgotten! How cruel of her! How wretched she was, how hideous! Kassydie knelt at the body of the tiny salamander, relieved to see her chest rising and falling. Kassydie placed her hand gently on the salamander, feeling for broken bones, she found none, though she wasn't sure. Sharrick's skeletal structure was quite different from any other she'd felt. Not that she'd felt many.

Kassydie gathered the salamander into her arms and cradled her gently. She looked at the tree. There was her grandmother's little red book by it. Where Esten had been before Jeanne took him. Kassydie gingerly picked it up and held it against Sharrick. She hid her face for a few moments, composing the sudden wash of sadness. She felt better, and looked at Rodan.

"Why are we headed to the same place? I'm going to the castle." Kassydie asked.

Rodan grinned at her mischievously. Nothing like how Sange or Esten would smile at her. But definitely not like Jeanne or the other vampire had smiled at her. "I'm going to my origin. I've nothing better to do so I might as well."

Kassydie began walking with him towards the castle, through the hedge maze. "Your origin is at the castle?"

Rodan smiled at her, "Of course. She is the king's adviser after all."

Kassydie looked up at the castle as a distant clock tolled away the hour.

**Finally done! I'm sooooo sorry sorry sorry! It's been months! Bloody months! Please be free to flay me once I finish the story! . I deserve it! In my defense school has been bustling. . I also tried my hand at NaNoWriMo. But, being the horrible updater that I am I of course failed. I deserve all of your hate-mail! ;-;**  
**P.S. I was checking the word count for this chapter and noticed it was around nine thousand. SQUEE! I simply couldn't leave it so close to my constant goal of ten thousand so I plumped up a few of the parts! X3 This resulted in a longer kissing scene than I had originally planned by the by. :3 YAAAAY!~! FINALLY! The ten thousand word chapter! DRINKS ALL AROUND!**


	13. 11th Hour

**Despite the evidence to the contrary I really do love you all and I really don't mean to space these things out three months at a time. :3**

"How many bruises have you got?" Rodan asked, looking Kassydie over.

She didn't know, she hadn't had time to take inventory. "Um, I can feel six or seven really big ones but I'm sure there are lots of smaller ones..."

Rodan shook his head. He seemed to be a real sucker for the 'damsel in distress'. "And you're bleeding everywhere."

Kassydie's hand went unbidden to the scrap of Sange's shirt around her neck. "Yeah, I know."

She was once again forced to make her way through the labyrinth. No sooner does she discover that the labyrinth wants to obey her than she comes across a section of it made of _living _stone. Kassydie couldn't force her will on anything that could think for itself, she'd tried. A little bit…+

Rodan tossed his red hair from his eyes. It was much shorter than Sange's but it framed shaggily around his face, sort of like Esten's had. Sange had had pointed ears but Rodan's ear's stuck out about six inches from his head. They looked like Kisshu's ears from Tokyo Mew Mew. Kassydie found herself thinking idly about her chances of getting Rodan to cosplay.

"You're staring at me," Rodan noted, his tone colored in amusement, "Are you falling for me?"

Kassydie looked away, blushing faintly, but with shame. Sange and Esten were gone, Rodan was a completely new person. She couldn't treat him like Sange or Esten and she shouldn't be comparing them either. It was too unfair to Rodan. Just because Sange and Esten were a part of his soul didn't mean he wasn't a new and unique person. Kassydie had to start thinking of Rodan as his own person and stop looking for Sange and Esten.

"Sorry," She mumbled her apology.

Rodan smiled his cheery, crooked smile. "You didn't mean any harm. Actually, I don't know if I'm cute enough to be so flirty." He laughed to himself. "I haven't even seen my own reflection."

Kassydie stopped and looked at the ground. She began pulling at the water she reasoned was underneath the ground until a clear, reflective puddle was at her feet. "That should help." She offered kindly, wanting to make amends with him for something he didn't know she'd done. Besides, it probably sucked not to know what you even look like.

Rodan raised an eyebrow, "You're rather amazing." He leaned over the water and looked at himself. After a minute or so of inspection he chuckled. Kassydie looked down at their reflections with him. She'd meant to look at him but she found herself staring at herself instead, in something close to horror. Her bright, ocean blue eyes were ringed with dark circles of sleep deprivation made puffy by all her crying. She'd been crying more than Karin Maaka lately and it was showing on her like it never would on the Chibi Vampire. Her jet black hair was snarled and tangled from all the running and tumbling she'd been doing. The bruises on her neck looked garish on her pure white skin. She looked haggard and horrible, especially next to the pristine Rodan.

"Ah my Goddess!" Kassydie groaned and stepped over the puddle, not wanting to look at herself any longer.

Rodan chuckled and caught up to her easily without having to go any faster than his normal gait. "You don't look that bad."

Kassydie tried to walk faster but he kept up with her easily. "I thought fairies can't lie?" She pouted.

Rodan smiled, "I'm not lying." He put his hand on her shoulder and made her stop, "You really are still beautiful."

Kassydie frowned up at him, "It's kind of you to say." She replied shyly.

Rodan shook his head, "Really. You're an adorably unique girl who has been up longer than is healthy and who has been hurt more than she should be."

Kassydie smiled and gave him a hug even though they didn't know each other very well. "Thanks, Rodan." She said and let go to continue through the labyrinth.

She never hit a dead end and it seemed that she was always getting closer to the castle. Kassydie went through the labyrinth guided by a naive sort of grace that kept her from hitting dead ends. Kassydie brushed her fingers idly on the stone walls and gazed up at the night sky above her. The cool air had a touch of warmth to it that it hadn't before. Kassydie knew it wasn't just the section of the labyrinth that she was in. The atmosphere all around her had the same feeling of drowsy awakeness that Kassydie always felt before the sun woke up to turn the sky gray and send it into a swirl of atmospheric tie-dye. Kassydie took a deep breath of the air, drawing the crispness of it into her lungs to try to wake herself up.

A lot had happened since she'd entered the labyrinth and there was no time to sleep here. The only rest she'd gotten was the couple of times she'd passed out from fear or otherwise, and that had only left her more tired than before. It was these calm moments that Kassydie wished she could sleep through. After all, it wasn't like she'd gotten much sleep before she'd entered the labyrinth. She'd had to wake up early for her Grandmother's funeral, then of course the reception for it, then Myrahnda had played the perfect wicked step-mother and taken away all of her manga and fairytale books in black plastic bags. Except for her grandmother's book. Kassydie carried the little red thing in her hands as she walked with Rodan.

Kassydie shrugged to herself and opened the book to the first page. She was about to fall over from sleep deprivation. Reading always helped her stay awake longer, besides, it wasn't like she had to pay attention to get through the labyrinth.

"You're reading?" Rodan asked, disbelief making him unable to say anything more intelligent than to point out the obvious. "I was under the impression that you were supposed to be solving the labyrinth?"

Kassydie shrugged, letting her eyes drift across the wayward margins of her book. "I'll pass out if I don't read. I have to have something to keep my mind occupied and walking isn't doing that for me."

Rodan tilted his body down to try to look at her at eye-level, "I could carry you if you wanted to sleep." He offered.

Kassydie looked up from the pages, "Do you know how to get through?"

Rodan nodded, "I have the memories of the gate-keeper. He knew the labyrinth almost as well as the King. Though it changes…"

Kassydie pulled her lip into her mouth in contemplation, "Are you allowed to help me like that?"

Rodan shrugged, "I haven't been ordered not to. I haven't any orders at all. Which is why I'm headed to the castle, actually."

Kassydie continued to gnaw at her lip. The offer was extremely tempting but she'd feel awful and selfish if she accepted it. She shook her head.

Rodan lifted his hand to her face and placed his thumb just under her lip, freeing it from her teeth. "You shouldn't do that, you'll hurt your lips." He dropped his hand, "Please, Kassydie, I insist."

Kassydie almost pulled her lip back into her mouth in her nervousness but compromised by pressing her lips together in a thin line. She shook her head again. "I'm fine, it's alright. I couldn't leave you to all the work." She smiled at him to show that she appreciated the offer.

Rodan let his shoulders fall and stood back up to his full height. "Please don't read. I'm bored, I'd rather talk than watch you nuzzle into that book."

Kassydie sighed a little bit and closed the book. She looked up at Rodan with a smile that one might offer when indulging a child. "You're like the boys at school."

"Oh, now this sounds interesting." Rodan grinned just like a mischievous boy. He rather reminded her of Peter Pan, his smile was just as contagious too. "What are the boys at your school like?"

Kassydie clasped her hands over her book as she held it in front of her, she looked up at the sky as she described them, "They're bothersome. They always come to my desk to pester me like children do their mother's when they're in the candy aisle. They complain that I read too much. They tease me and joke until they get my attention, then they add flirtatious remarks and innuendos. I think it's because I'm still the 'new kid' at school even though I've been there for five years."

Rodan smiled at her honest description, "You could at least sound a little more flattered by their attention," He laughed, "You make it sound so boring."

Kassydie gave him a half smile, "It is boring," She defended with an exaggerated sigh, "They always want to mess with me but I'd rather be reading."

"You never talk to any of your girlfriends?" Rodan asked.

Kassydie shook her head, "I don't have any friends there. The girls think I'm stuck up and the guys just want to look at the shiny new toy. I had a lot of friends before I moved but I haven't really talked to any of them lately. I don't really want any of the kids at school as friends anyway…"

Rodan frowned apathetically, "You're really lonely."

Kassydie nodded, it was the truth, but only since her grandmother had died. "There's no one who understands me any more. Everyone at school thinks anime and manga are for children, no one cares about fairy tales or fantasy. There's no one to talk to unless I wanna discuss the 'intricacies' of sports or volunteer work." Kassydie shuddered.

"I'm sorry," Rodan looked at her a bit more compassionately than the situation really called for.

Kassydie smiled at his compassion. Rodan seemed to do everything just a little over the top. "I don't bother with anyone at school. All they could ever be is false friends, they would all turn on me in an instant. I was never lonely before Grandma died, but now..." Kassydie looked down, the faint traces of a forced smile still on her lips. "Now I'm kind of all alone." Even the friends she'd made in the labyrinth were gone. Except for Sharrick but she was passed out on Rodan's shoulders. Kassydie was really worried about her. She'd taken quite a beating.

"Hey," Rodan had bent down again to look at her, "I'll be your best friend."

His eager look made Kassydie laugh. "Yeah?"

Rodan nodded, "Yeah. I'll read manga and anime and sleep over at your house." His grin took on a boyish quality, "We'll paint each other's nails and do each other's hair and gossip about cute idols."

Kassydie laughed, "You're teasing me, you don't even know what manga and anime is."

Rodan laughed too, "I don't, but that isn't the point."

Kassydie smiled, "No?"

Rodan shook his head, "No, the point is that you laughed."

Kassydie parted her lips into a surprised 'o'. They walked the next few steps in silence as her mind processed the round-about way Rodan had gone about cheering her up and fully separating himself from Sange while accepting that he was part of him.

"You're incredible." Kassydie finally said.

Rodan walked leisurely beside her, smiling like a satisfied cat. "Thanks, I know."

"You're a good friend, Rodan," Kassydie continued, "I'm sorry I didn't see you as an individual when we first met." She added, her shyness conflicting with her confident words.

Rodan smiled down at her, "There was never anything to apologize for."

Kassydie shook her head, "I feel like there was."

Rodan nodded, "Then I forgive you."

"Sharrick..." Sharrick stretched on Rodan's shoulders.

"Sharrick!" Kassydie exclaimed, "You're awake! Are you alright?" She picked the Salamander up from Rodan's shoulders.

Sharrick pushed her head under Kassydie's chin and nuzzled into her, purring like a crackling log.

"I was so worried!" Kassydie closed her eyes and cuddled into the soft fire-breather. Sharrick made a sharp noise of comfort, much like the sound of an ember flying up into the sky.

Rodan petted Sharrick's soft fur with an amused smile, "We match."

Kassydie opened her eyes to see Rodan's big hand tangled in the red fur of Sharrick's back. She lifted her head from the salamander and laughed. "You do." Their hair color was extremely close.

Kassydie sighed happily and replaced her book into her pocket so she could hold Sharrick better. She didn't want to let her go. Sharrick shifted to be more comfortable in Kassydie's arms, extending her claws gently into Kassydie's flower dress like a kitten.

Above them, the sun began to chase away the shadows in the sky.

*^*%*^*

Jareth watched the trio with a conflicted heart. Kassydie was cozying up to yet another male in her long journey and he wasn't quite happy with it. Actually, he wasn't happy with it at all. But she looked much better, she seemed to have gotten over the 'deaths' of her friends in a remarkably short time. Actually it was in such a short time that Jareth wondered if she could possibly be over it. She seemed fine, she had stopped crying, and her manner was that of someone who no longer suffered from the death of a companion. But was that really possible? Or was she used to suffering loss and being forced to move on by life? Jareth wondered at her acting skills as she walked through the maze of living rocks. He put his hand over the orb. Kassydie had called him a stalker, he still felt a little like she could sense it when he watched her. It made him feel kind of guilty…

He sighed and lifted a groggy Jamie from her crib. It must be difficult for her to have to wake every couple of hours for the foul dose of medicine. Jamie whimpered as he poured the medicine into her mouth. Jareth made soft sounds of comfort and she dozed off again once she'd finished the serving of medicine. He gently tucked her back into her crib and left. He went to his throne room, empty but for a few goblin servants dusting the corners.

"My Lord?" His advisor asked behind him, her voice lilting with more questions than just for his attention. Her voice, usually so musical and sweet, sounded flat and monotonous.

Jareth turned to her languidly. "Where have you been?"

"I have been delaying the girl."

"I did see that. It wasn't quite what I asked you to do, was it?" Jareth leaned against the pedestal he'd laid his crystal on. It was early morning and a few of the goblins were wandering about, starting their early day and going through the castle, cleaning up whatever he'd broken during the night and such.

"You asked me to intervene if she began moving to quickly through the labyrinth. She discovered certain powers from you. You're in love with her." His pretty little advisor pointed out, her lips tilted in a way that resembled a smile but it was a symbol, nothing more. She was capable of nothing more.

"I didn't want you to split your soul again," Jareth sighed, "Look at you, you can't even smile now."

She shrugged and lifted herself to sit on the edge of a windowsill. Her dark copper hair hung limply around her face, stretching down almost to the floor. When she looked at him her gray eyes were empty of something vital. Despite her height and healthy structure Jareth's advisor seemed frail and weak and far paler than she usually was.

"You've split again." Jareth noted, and she nodded delicately. "Where is it? Go get it back, I can't have you like this so close to the end."

She shook her head, igniting Jareth's rage. "I can't." She said in a weak voice before he could say anything. "It was an accident. The new creation, Rodan. When he was created a part was forced from me and he is gone, tunneled deep into the labyrinth and waiting for Kassydie. I cannot get him back like this."

"Him?" Jareth questioned, "What is he?"

His advisor guiltily inspected the ground, "He's an Iyoui."

"What?" Jareth growled, eyes narrowing in righteous anger.

"An I-"

"I heard you, obviously!" Jareth snapped. "How does it happen that an Iyoui is in my labyrinth? Especially while Kassydie is here!"

"You asked that I delay her!" His adviser defended furiously. "You said, 'Kassydie is advancing far too quickly! How can she grow to be my queen if she's so rapidly on her way over here? She still doesn't completely understand the labyrinth. I think it's time you delayed her a bit.' And that was almost immediately after you told me to try to kill her!"

"Do not raise your voice at me." Jareth hissed as a couple of goblin servants chittered behind him. "I know what I said."

"It's not like I control what I become when I split." She huffed.

"And yet you couldn't get yourself back? And now you're fragmented even more so and you are forgetting your place."

"Well then that's my excuse so stop yelling at me." She frowned petulantly at him.

Jareth resisted the urge to whack her with his riding crop but only because he wasn't completely sure she wouldn't like it in this state. "Go get him back, then come talk to me and I'll decide your punishment for your behavior."

She smirked triumphantly and winked at him as she left. At least she could be counted on to obey direct commands. When she was this fragmented it was almost as hard to get her to follow orders as it was the goblins.

Jareth sighed, he'd completely forgotten why he'd wanted to speak to her in the first place. He looked out at the pre-dawn sky, wondering what Kassydie was doing. He refused to gaze at her in his crystal. Jareth found that wondering at what she was doing was perhaps more satisfying than actually watching her. Besides that, he still hadn't gotten over the fact that she'd called him a stalker. If he were honest with himself, which he tried not to be, then he would admit that he was a bit of a stalker. Well, he was a stalker. Period. But he was not being honest with himself, so he was not a stalker, he was just...keeping tabs on those who may affect him.

He'd thought Sarah would be his queen. He so desperately wanted a queen. A woman who was fierce and would both stand up to him and submit to him. No, none of the fickle courtiers would do as his queen. He'd so opined Sarah to be his queen. She had stood up to him and defeated him. However, not long after she'd left she'd pulled her friends through the mirror with certain powers she'd been given and left him out without a second thought, well, it wasn't hard to take a hint. He'd tried very hard to woo her back to him. He'd affected her dreams, sent her adventures in them that would show more of his true nature to her then she'd wanted to see while in the labyrinth. But she hadn't wanted him. Not at all. And he'd continued to torture himself by watching her through her life. It wasn't the first time he'd done so with humans, he found it fascinating to watch them change. But with Sarah, it was just a painful reminder that he wasn't what she wanted, or needed, him to be.

Now, he actually thought of Kassydie as his queen, in all but the title. She was upset with him now but for some reason, Jareth felt confident that she would forgive him, eventually. She doubtless would never forget it though, nor would she let him live it down. Jareth knew he wouldn't mind it anyway. He felt a pull to her that he'd never felt before and it was a wonderful feeling. It lifted him, strengthened him. He went to the window to watch the sky begin to illuminate his kingdom. As he strengthened, it did too, and the sight of it only lifted him higher. And it was all because of Kassydie, because he finally found love, real love, and he knew what it was. It was never the complete dominance of a woman he'd always imagined, nor the infatuation he often felt with the pretty fairies of the other courts. This felt different, more real and no less enchanting for it. A small sigh of satisfaction escaped his lips and the tops of the walls nearest his castle bloomed with morning glories, big blue ones, just like the ones in the Aboveground. He really liked them. When he looked at them now, he found they reminded him of Kassydie. They were just as deep a blue as her ocean eyes. Thinking about her eyes brought up a host of blue flowers in the garden below his window and he smiled at the sight of them. What was the flower she'd been planting when they mourned together? He let soft black irises sprout all along the wall and let his thoughts drift to the moment she planted them just hours earlier. Her nails had soil caked under them and her pale hands were smudged gracelessly with the dirt. She'd gripped the spade with a sense of determination and seemed a little frustrated with the dirt as she dug her hole. But when she'd planted the flowers her entire disposition seemed to change. She handled the flowers delicately, careful not to smear dirt on the gentle black petals. Her eyes looked dreamy and she'd seemed so very far away. The expression on her face then was just the reason why he'd flown down to the headstone.

Jareth tapped his riding crop against his heel as he looked out at his kingdom. The lengthening shadows of dawn only made him realize how tired he was, though it didn't show. Jareth pushed away from the window with a sigh. He could sleep when this was all done. A few goblins scurried into his throne room, their arms loaded with papers. After them, shuffled a very old goblin, the smartest goblin that ever lived, he was even smarter than the scribes in the High Court. Jareth was reminded that even though he had a champion in the labyrinth, he was still king. Which meant he had paperwork.

"I hate paper work." He told the old goblin.

He only nodded as he shuffled in behind the goblins he'd appointed to carry it all. The old goblin spoke slowly, his voice deep and resonating, "It's yours to do. We have still goblins to be registered and the High Court demanded a full report of your labyrinth. They want an updated map of it. They also want a record of any new Solitary."

Jareth huffed as he lounged in his throne, looking over the papers. "A map of my labyrinth? They know it changes daily! The High Court doesn't care about this place, they're just mad at me!"

The goblin nodded, "That doesn't matter. You still have to do it."

Jareth grunted very un-kinglike and bent over the papers, scribbling his signature on some and writing replies to letters. He'd have to do it all by hand. The High Courts expected nothing less.

He spoke to the wise old goblin as he scanned the documents, "What do you think of Kassydie?"

The old goblin looked up at him, his eyes clouded with confusion. "Who?"

"The girl!" Squawked his hat. "The one in the labyrinth. Can't you remember a thing?"

"Quiet." Jareth snarled at the annoying hat and the thing shut up with a huff.

"Ahh yes." The goblin spoke slowly. "Small thing isn't she?"

Jareth nodded as he looked at a paper that stipulated the perimeters of his kingdom. He checked the measurements and signed off on them. "She is quite small."

"But, not frail." The old goblin shook his head. "Not at all."

"What makes you say that?" He thought about Kassydie, she was structured like a bird, small and fragile. She looked like a good wind could snap her.

"Can't you see it? It's her eyes. They say everything. Everyone's eyes do. The eyes can't lie." The goblin shook his head.

"I think she likes people thinking of her as frail and weak." The hat piped up, unable to stay quiet for long.

Jareth cast it an annoyed glance but asked, "Why?"

The hat bobbed it's head in what must have been a shrug. "So she's underestimated."

"You've been watching her," The old goblin said, already knowing it was true. "Have you seen anything otherwise?"

Jareth shook his head and signed a huge stack of papers written in uselessly large words that basically said he was the Goblin King. Bastards. "She's strong. Mentally and physically, amazingly strong."

The old goblin took a pile of papers that Jareth was finished with and handed them to a smaller goblin with sharp, pug features. The goblin took them and hurried off to deliver them.

"She's going to be my Queen."

The old goblin grunted. "Not if she heard you say that."

Jareth shrugged. He kind of figured Kassydie wouldn't like it put that way, as a commanding fact. It was her choice no matter what but if it seemed like it wasn't she would run. She always did, somehow.

"Do you like her?" Jareth asked, glancing over a paper about the number of goblins in his kingdom. He always fudged the details a bit on that.

The old goblin and his hat nodded. "She's strong. Stronger than Sarah even."

Jareth nodded, he'd thought the same. After all, Sarah was driven through the labyrinth because it was the dream she'd always wanted, to foil the plans of the evil fairy. Kassydie was using everything she had and more to get through the labyrinth to take back the only family she has left.

"I love her." Jareth said.

"_Duh_, we know _that_!" The hat squealed.

"Quiet!" The goblin admonished. He reached under his layers of clothes and pulled something out. He opened his hand, palm up, to Jareth. "This is what she gave us, in return for advice."

Jareth picked up the two little pearl earrings and looked at them as they rested atop his black glove. Kassydie's earrings. He remembered them, she'd worn them to the funeral. He brought them to his lips, they were cool and smelled of the perfume she'd worn. He took of his gloves and pinned the two earrings through the bright red cravat he was wearing. The earrings went well with the grey silk shirt he wore, buttoned up and accented with the cravat and his tight black riding pants. He liked them there, dangling above his heart. He touched the smooth pearl with his long bare fingers once more then put the gloves back on.

He sighed at the huge stack of papers still before him and focused on it once again.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie was thinking about Jamie again. Well, she was always thinking about Jamie but she found her thoughts focusing on her little sister. Now that she wasn't running for her life or being seduced by Jareth, her thoughts were turned solely to the sweet baby locked away in Jareth's castle like a fairy tale princess, and she was the knight.

Kassydie laughed at that.

Rodan quirked an eyebrow in question.

Kassydie looked up apologetically and stroked Sharrick from her perch on Kassydie's shoulder. "Ah, just thinking about my sister."

"Oh! Yes, the reason you're here. What were you thinking? I'd like to know." Rodan was honest about that. Though he had lifetimes of knowledge she was the first person he'd really met. He was interested in most of what she had to say.

"Just that, Jamie is the damsel in distress, she's the princess, so I'm the knight. Like Peach and Mario." Kassydie scrunched up her face in distaste, she didn't like comparing herself to a plumber. "Never mind, like Zelda and Link." She pantomimed slashing a sword at her enemies.

Rodan laughed at that. "You really love your sister?"

Kassydie nodded enthusiastically. "Very, very much." Her expression fell. She was never upset with her and never would be. Kassydie was too old for Jamie to annoy her or to fight with her. "But even if we get out of here together I'll be gone." Kassydie had been excepted into a Washington college last week. School started next month. As soon as September began. Kassydie bit her lip.

Rodan's thumb was just under her lip again, gently pulling her lip free in a way that made Kassydie blush. "I bet you bite your nails too."

Kassydie pressed her lips together and clasped her hands behind her back. So what if she did?

"Why will you be gone?"

"School." Kassydie said, looking up at the pink, purple, and grey sky above. "I'm off to college next month."

"If you want to stay with Jamie so much, why not just wait another year or so before you go?"

"Because Myrahnda-" Kassydie stopped the sentence, her eyes teared up a little bit and her cheeks flushed with anger. She looked away from him.

"Your stepmother?" Rodan guessed. "What? What did she do?"

Kassydie stroked Sharrick absentmindedly. "She's addicted to, ah," Kassydie blushed furiously, "Um, sex. She's a nympho. She brings men around all the time since before my dad even...before he... I never told because... Well, after mom, there was never anyone, and he was happy, so if he didn't know it was fine right?" She looked to Rodan, not expecting him to answer but to understand.

Rodan nodded sincerely. He could see her logic. How she was trapped in the middle.

Kassydie looked down again as Sharrick nuzzled her comfortingly. "After dad... She brought lots home, sometimes, uh, four at once." Her fingers tangled into Sharrick's fur tightly. "Never any pedos so Jamie's safe. Myrahnda has a way to tell if some guy's into, uh, things like that. She's good at telling. She'd do anything to keep Jamie safe. But I'm not- I'm not a child so..." The words were getting harder to speak. She hated feeling so vulnerable. She wanted to be more like Yako, she'd seen her dad's guts across four walls and, instead of feeling sorry for herself, teamed up with a demon detective and solved the 'suicide' case. Yeah, that's what she wanted to be like. Not some weak little Romanian girl running from deaths cancer and a car crash...

"Did any of them...?" Rodan hesitated over the words. "Did they ever touch you?" He seemed horrified at the idea.

Kassydie shook her head, sending her long, tangled hair flipping back and forth. "No but...lots wanted me to...join them. Myrahnda didn't care. The first time I just ran. Ran into my room, locked the door, and took the fire escape. Walked the streets till dawn. Not so smart in New Jersey but hey, thugs I can handle, nymphos, not so much... After that I got a job at the all night cinema. It wasn't much work so I slept there mostly..." Kassydie looked distant. Was it really better to leave Jamie alone with Myrahnda? At least, from what Kassydie could tell, Jareth liked babies. She wasn't so sure if she herself wanted to leave this place. Hadn't she always dreamed of fairyland? A way to get away from her stupid big-city problems? Whether she defeated the labyrinth or not she was abandoning Jamie, one way or another. She couldn't run but she couldn't stay with Myrahnda either. And she couldn't leave Jamie with Myrahnda. Myrahnda smoked in the house! She got drunk! She went out to whacko orgies! How could Jamie really survive in that environment? Myrahnda loved Jamie but not enough to change. What would happen when Jamie became older? Or if a pedo somehow slipped through the cracks?

"I'm sorry your life was like that." Rodan looked at her with his green eyes framed by long red eyelashes. "Why not stay here?"

It was just what she'd been wondering. The more she thought about her life in Aboveground, the better Underground looked. "But, I'm human."

Rodan shrugged, "There are lots of humans here. Humans age like fairies down here. Usually only as empty shells but that's the ones the fairies kidnap for their pets."

"That's sick, you can't keep people as pets." Kassydie frowned.

"I'm not saying I agree with it, just that there are humans living down here in a state where they can't take our land over and infest it with their ideals. You wouldn't have to be wiped brainless. You think like a fairy already."

"I don't." Kassydie's frowned deepened.

"If you think about it you kind of do. Your logic, it doesn't match human standards. Like the way you go through the labyrinth, or just start controlling it. Humans blind themselves, blurring the facts to suit what they already believe. But you just, go with it, in a way where you maintain control." Rodan looked at her like she was something amazing.

Kassydie shrugged, "It's just how I've grown up. If I resisted everything that happened I'd have shot myself." She pantomimed a gun with her hand and stuck her fingers in her mouth. "Right in the head." She mumbled around her fingers then dropped her hand and laughed.

Rodan frowned this time, "That wasn't funny."

Kassydie shrugged, causing Sharrick to shift position. "I thought it was."

Rodan shook his head.

Kassydie looked around the stupid maze of stupid living stones. She'd tried reasoning with them half an hour ago but they were as unresponsive as, well, as rocks. Something shifted in the corner of her eye and she whirled to look but there was nothing there. She didn't pass it off as a trick of her bangs, she continued to look around, Rodan started to as well. Suddenly, Kassydie was knocked down by something very, very _hard_. Rodan dove to cover her, shielding her with his body. Kassydie looked up to see what had hit her, besides a baseball bat cuz that was what it had felt like.

An eight foot gargoyle skidded to a stop in front of them. His eyes were big and red, he was completely made of stone and his wings were huge, the size of his body and they were folded at his back. No doubt they were three times his size if he was supposed to fly. She looked at his huge arms, which was what had hit her. She looked back to his snarling face. His jaw was separated slightly by a huge set of canines that jutted up from his lower jaw. All of his teeth were sharp and his face seemed kind of squished in on itself. He had huge stone horns and big ears, and lots of muscle. He didn't look like he could move very fast but apparently he could.

Kassydie dragged air back into her lungs and turned around to push at Rodan. "Shit, shit, shit! Run, run!"

He got up, pulling her up with him and half dragged her in the opposite direction. Kassydie ran after him as fast as she could and the gargoyle took to the air above them. The gargoyle landed right in front of them. Kassydie threw Sharrick to Rodan, Sharrick fussed about it but there it was.

"Split up!" She commanded the elf, knowing the gargoyle was after her. Rodan didn't though.

Kassydie ran down one corridor, Rodan started throwing huge rocks at it, rocks that had looked way to heavy to lift. The gargoyle looked disdainfully at Rodan. Rodan seemed to know it'd go after Kassydie after all. At least she'd get a head start, and she wouldn't have to worry about him. She hated that people seemed to drop like flies around her. She didn't want to be responsible for it again. Kassydie ran full tilt through the labyrinth. Trusting Rodan to take care of himself for a little bit, at least until the gargoyle realized she was gone.

Kassydie ran faster than she'd ever run, and she could run pretty fast. She stretched out her legs and drew in deep, burning breaths. She felt a tiny rivulet of blood snake down from her neck, she'd reopened the wound. She could worry about that later. In minutes she'd run about half the distance she'd walked since entering the labyrinth of living stone. Then she heard powerful stone wings in pursuit.

"For the love of Suzamiya!" She gasped. "Can't I go _one_ hour without a near death experience!" She pushed herself to run faster. If she tried hard enough, she could run faster than Sunako Nakahara from an Abercrombie & Fitch store.

But, no matter how fast she ran the gargoyle seemed right behind her, like it was taking it's time, tiring her out so she wouldn't fight when he turned into something made of flesh so he could devour her. Kassydie started stumbling and slowing down, on purpose. She pretended to collapse, though it wasn't far from what she'd already wanted to do. She still had energy left, but much. She began trying to crawl away as the gargoyle touched down. He batted her into a wall with a stone paw, hand? It was like a hand only more animal like.

Kassydie saw stars when she hit the wall and all the air rushed out of her lungs again. Kassydie choked in as much as she could as the gargoyle stalked toward her. A menacing grin parted his lips. He wasn't mindless like some of her torturers had been. Kassydie scrabbled to stand but he whacked her in the shin and she fell again. She rolled away from him but he grabbed her and threw her to the other wall. Kassydie tried weakly to lift herself up but she couldn't manage it. He rolled her onto her back and pressed his paw down on her middle, forcing the air from her lungs.

"Stop, stop!" Kassydie choked as a few tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. The gargoyle made a deep rumbling sound in his throat, like rocks settling together after a landslide.

"Why?" He said in a rough, booming voice, like sand-aper and granite, scratchy and hard and deep.

"H-hurts!" Kassydie squirmed, the pressure eased a bit and she sucked in a deep gasp of air. "Th-thanks." She managed.

"You're thanking me?" The gargoyle questioned and laughed. The gargoyle let off of her completely but he placed his hands on either side of her shoulders. He was so _huge_! Kassydie pulled her knees up when she felt the brush of something she didn't want to think about over her toes. Yep, huge.

Kassydie panted, trying to recover from her fall _and_from having all the air forced from her lungs, thrice. "Yes," She panted heavily, "Thank you."

"For what?" The gargoyle asked, his deep voice thick with amusement.

"If you don't want to be thanked," Kassydie said between gasps for air, "Just say so and eat me, sheesh."

"I was just curious. But if you want me to eat you that badly I will, though I could think of less wasteful things." The gargoyle chuckled. Well, it sounded like it should be a chuckle, rocks grinding against each other in a heaving pattern.

Kassydie's eyes widened in horror. Did she ever say anything smart? "No! No!" She gasped, then took another few seconds to get better control of her breathing. "Can't you-What do you want?" _Why haven't you killed me yet?_

"All your stumbling through my home has made me curious." The gargoyle's voice resonated through the labyrinth. "I decided to take a gander and look at what I found? A tasty little human. It's been a long time since I've indulged in a human."

_Please don't indulge in me-e! _Kassydie thought in her panic. "What do you want?" Her breathing was more normal, her voice was still a little rough from having been tossed around so much.

"Oh? You're offering a bargain? And what, would you bargain for little thing?" He asked.

"My friends' and my safe passage through this section of the labyrinth." Kassydie said confidently.

The gargoyle laughed. "What do you offer in return?"

Kassydie paused momentarily. "What do you want?"

"I want to eat you." The gargoyle smiled his big, menacing smile. It was like being smiled at by a rottweiler. "Why should I bargain with you when I can just have what I want right now?"

Bargaining wasn't helping. She should lie, yep, she should definitely lie. "Because, I'm a powerful sorceress from Aboveground. I was sent here by Jareth, King of the Goblins, to inspect his labyrinth. He wanted me to help heal it, since he was unable to himself, without first healing his heart. I have been able to do fine work with it so far."

The gargoyle grunted, half doubtful, but half believing. "A sorceress? What have you cured?"

"Th-The forest. And many other parts of the labyrinth as well, like the flesh-eating vines." Kassydie lied, trying to think of places she'd been.

"Could you cure me?"

This puzzled Kassydie. He looked perfectly fine. Of course, now he wanted her to cure him and if she couldn't she'd be eaten. "Um, what's wrong with you?"

"Another...sorceress..." He seemed reluctant to say it, "Crossed my path and she cursed me into blindness. Blindness to the ley lines. I can't see them, can't hear them. I have had them with me all my life and now they are gone. It is hell."

Kassydie felt sorry for the gargoyle, even though he'd tried to eat her and insinuated at something different. How could she help him?

"I-I'll try, but only if you'll let me go."

The gargoyle looked at her with his big red eyes, and nodded solemnly.

She had some sort of power in the Underground. Surely she could do something? She twirled the necklace Jareth had given her in her fingers. She was able to see Jamie if she looked into it, surely it's magic could be altered a bit? So that it merged with the senses? Or if he swallowed it? Kassydie took it off and cupped it in her hands. She could feel the strands of magic all over it. She plucked at the different strands with her awareness and willed it to show her the ley lines. She fiddled with it some more, quickly learning which strands of Jareth's magic did what. It wasn't complicated, for an A student with a knack for figuring out the end of every anime and book she picked up. Besides that the strands of magic were relatively simple, she could sort of feel what each one did, and there weren't many. She plucked at a strand and suddenly her awareness merged with the image in the little orb. She gasped, suddenly she could see and feel glowing lines of power criss-crossing the country side. There was one behind her, she turned to look at it. A thin rivulet of glowing blue danced behind her, like the electricity in a Tesla coil only straighter. Ley line. She pinched the chain between her thumb and forefinger, she could still see it.

She turned to the gargoyle, "Come here, and bend down so I can reach you." Kassydie demanded politely. The gargoyle did as she asked. His neck was thick and large. She clasped the necklace around his neck, it had gone midway down her chest when she wore it but on the gargoyle it was almost like a choker, almost. She felt him gasp as the chain touched his stony skin. He'd never turned to flesh to eat her. She could already feel the bruises from his thick, stone hands batting her around the labyrinth.

The gargoyle retreated slowly, looking around in wonder, "They're back," His deep voice was softened by wonder and joy. He looked at her, his red eyes glowing bright with euphoria. "I am sorry for the pain I have caused you, Sorceress. You have my word that you will leave this place safely."

Kassydie smiled brightly, the gargoyle seemed powerfully relieved to be able to sense the lines he'd grown up with, like being reunited with a long lost friend. It felt good to see him like that. It felt good to have finally helped someone in the labyrinth. "Thank you, I forgive you." What was a few more bruises? Purple could be pretty. Yeah, she was tough.

"I will escort you out." The gargoyle offered, trying to make up for the pain he'd caused her.

"And my friends?" The gargoyle nodded deeply. Kassydie smiled, bright and sweet, "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"It's absolutely nothing compared to what you've done for me." The gargoyle bowed low to allow her onto his back. Kassydie hopped and scrambled trying to get up. She felt the gargoyle's body rumble in laughter underneath her hands and then his hand was under her and scooping her up onto his back. "Thanks." Kassydie said.

The gargoyle laughed again._ So she was short? So what!_

He lifted with a powerful beat of his wings, Kassydie gasped with the dizzying motion, like going down in an elevator, and clung to the gargoyle's soft back, and he'd turned to flesh. He was covered in a soft layer of short fur except for the lengthened tufts in his ears and along his spine, and at the tip of his tail. He was soft as a kitten and prettier. His fur shone like polished oak. Kassydie unconsciously stroked his furry neck but from the rumble she got he seemed not to mind. He lifted them higher into the air and soared in a large arc. He flew straight for a couple of beats of his wings and slowly descended in a circle, like a vulture would. He landed right in front of Rodan and Sharrick. Rodan looked started and prepared to throw something at the gargoyle until he lowered his wings and Rodan caught sight of Kassydie, smiling and waving from his back. Rodan laughed and dropped his rocks. He scooped Sharrick from the ground, took a couple of steps and leaped onto the gargoyle's back.

Kassydie rolled her eyes, "Show off."

Rodan mussed her hair in response.

Wordlessly, the gargoyle lifted back into the air, Kassydie leaned forward against his neck again and looked down at the ground as he lifted high into the air. The gargoyle soared around for a bit, obviously extending their ride to show them an aerial view of the labyrinth. And it was, gorgeous. The labyrinth was a quilt of hundreds of colors. Deep purples sinking into soft grays and flowing into emerald greens or gentle blues. Everything merged and separated and growing and healthy. It took Kassydie's breath away. She took the opportunity to scope out where they were headed. It was only three pretty sections away from the castle where the gargoyle would drop them off. She was so close!

The gargoyle descended slowly, merely five minutes later, and dropped them off at the end of his portion of living rock. It was a section that had been mixed shades of green and blue and white, like glitter. She could see that it was made of trees and vines, probably sentient ones...

Kassydie turned back to the gargoyle, "Thank you. You never told me your name?"

The gargoyle's smile didn't look so menacing this time. "Sorceress, you have made a friend of Grimorum and all of my clansmen across this land."

Kassydie smiled gently and put her hand on his arm, "Thank you Grimorum, I will treasure your friendship. And in exchange for your name I give you mine. Kassydie. Kassydie Monarch."

"Two of your names?" Grimorum looked astonished and humbled. Fairies, they were so easy to please.

Kassydie nodded, "Take care of them Grimorum, I trust you with them."

Grimorum bowed low and humbly, "Thank you Sorceress Kassydie of Kings and Queens."

Kings and Queens? Well, Monarch. But she'd always thought of the butterfly, to have her name equate to the term for rulers, well, it was kind of an ego boost, she wasn't gonna lie.

Kassydie smiled, "Be safe, Grimorum, and treasure your ley lines. May they always flare brilliantly for you."

"May your powers grow as the trees and not as the moon." Grimorum wished her fare-well and then flew off. Kassydie turned into the new labyrinth of vines and trees, she looked at Rodan then blushed when she caught sight of the strange expression of admiration and surprise on his face.

"What?" She murmured as she walked.

"You know how to deal with gargoyles? How did you escape him, he wanted to eat you?" Rodan walked next to her, holding Sharrick. Sharrick seemed to agree if the sizzling sound she made were any indication.

Kassydie shrugged, "He mentioned not being able to see or hear ley lines any more so I fixed it."

"That's why he had your necklace? You made it so he could see the lines with it?"

Kassydie nodded, "Jareth already had his magic all over it, and it wasn't hard to tweak it."

Rodan burst into laughter and Kassydie just had to laugh along with him. She laughed long and hard, in a way she hadn't for awhile.

"Kassydie, you really are an amazing creature."

Kassydie regained control of her laughter, "Thanks, you're not bad yourself. How big were those damn rocks?"

Rodan chuckled, "Huge."

Kassydie giggled again and a bell tolled unseen. Two hours left, counting the one she was starting.

"So..." Kassydie said as the bell tolled, "Any idea what we're in?"

Rodan shrugged and pet Sharrick, he seemed to really like her.

Kassydie smiled, "I guess we'll find out."

"Or die trying." Rodan smiled.

**Finally done! I know it's not as life and deathy as the last chapter but, living stone? Yeah, gargoyles! And I just can't think of gargoyles as bad guys. And yeah, I know they don't actually eat people but that's what I put! Grimorum is a name related somehow to the Labyrinth Clan of gargoyles. Cool, huh? XD I even kind of proof read! Aren't I cool? I really, really will try to be faster! Oh, and before anyone asks again how I did on NaNoReMo? Failed, epically! MISERABLY! But I'm fine. :3 Thanks for sticking with me guys! I'd be NOTHING without you!~!**


	14. 12th Hour

**We're getting so close to the end! I'm so nervous! I keep getting frazzled over this chapter since I'm trying to plan the end at the same time! I have some goals here! AAAAHHHH! WutemIgonnado? Right then! Thank you everyone for continuing to read this even though I'm so very terrible at updating! I'm so grateful you all haven't abandoned me! 3******

Kassydie stepped lightly on the foliage under her feet. The humid air around her was a drastic change from the portion of living rock she'd just left. She felt like she was in a jungle again and wondered if this was Fiery Forest. Skinny trees grew high into the sky and damp vines coiled and tangled around and between them. The ground was squishy with rotting leaves and plants that received too little sunlight. Some of the only small plants she saw were harsh looking things covered in bristles and thorns. Kassydie steered away from all of those, she wasn't eager to find out what poison filled the tiny barbs. There weren't 'walls' in this section of the labyrinth like she'd often encountered. It was just a tangled mess all around her. And, of course, the trees were intelligent creatures capable of conscious thought. It was almost like the labyrinth_ knew_ she'd discovered her certain abilities to control it and was shifting around her to make her life harder. Actually, it was _exactly_ like that. Bastard maze. Yes, _maze_.

Rodan was currently inspecting the vines as they went, curious as to why they had such a wet texture. Kassydie looked over at them, "I wouldn't touch them."

Rodan frowned indignantly, "I wasn't going to touch them!" He put his hand back down to his side, away from the vine he was going to touch.

Kassydie smirked. "Are you sure? You looked a little grabby there."

"I'll show you grabby," Rodan grumbled with a scowl.

Kassydie laughed and Sharrick chirruped from her arms. "Last time I was in a forest like this I got attacked by killer vines."

Rodan looked down at her ankles, the only five inches of her skin to show under the dress. "Is that what those red scratches are from?"

Kassydie glanced down though she couldn't see them and nodded. She knew which ones he was talking about, the red ones that were still slightly welted though it had been hours ago. The poison had been nullified almost immediately but it had still done its damage.

"That's why I hate skirts." She mumbled.

"What? Why?"

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "It offered no protection from those vines, they hit my bare skin in two seconds flat." She sighed, "I miss my trousers!"

"Then why are you wearing a dress?" Rodan asked.

Kassydie looked at the dress of beautiful flowers that had been artfully sewn together by her friends. "My friends made it for me." Sharrick purred proudly, "A skirt was easier to make given the time we had, plus, they must have assumed it was my preference since I've been in dresses this whole time."

"Women look good in dresses." Rodan defended the garment.

Kassydie laughed aloud, "As opposed to men in dresses?"

Rodan smiled, "I could have phrased that differently."

Kassydie giggled and nodded. She looked up again. The trees formed a heavy canopy. It was so hard to see and Kassydie was getting worried about stepping on a testy tree root. They'd probably throw apples at her.

She sighed, "Normally I'm something of a Sunako Nakahara when it comes to darkness but this is a little over-rated." She grumbled to the thick leaves that were blocking the waking sun.

"Who's Sunako Nakahara?" Rodan asked, puzzled. Sharrick wasn't worried about it, by now she was used to Kassydie's references to anime.

Kassydie shrugged, "The heroine in Wallflower." She knew this wasn't really an explanation, but for some reason that was just the way all otaku replied when asked about anime. Who is Miku Hatsune? She's a Vocaloid. Wtf? -sigh-

Rodan shrugged and gave up on the question, sensing he probably wouldn't understand what she was talking about if he asked a thousand questions.

Kassydie looked ahead; the path they were walking was far from straight, they kept getting blocked by the trees with those vines strung so thickly between them it'd be impossible to get through. Kassydie kept ducking under the vines in places where Rodan couldn't possibly hope to make the same maneuver, so she'd have to go back under the vines and find a different way through. And it was so dark that most of the trees just looked like looming shadows. Just trying to see any farther than her feet made her eyes hurt with the strain. Sharrick huffed a tiny cat-like sneeze and a little spurt of fire lit the darkness for a second. Kassydie felt like an idiot.

"Bless you," She said, and then asked, "Sharrick, would you mind lighting our way a bit? Just for a little while at least." She didn't know if the dangers in this forest were more deadly when encountered in the dark, or when they were surrounded by light. Which, in the labyrinth, would make sense.

Sharrick huffed her agreement and a puff of flame undulated the shadows for a moment. Then, Sharrick issued a small, constant stream of fire to light their way. Kassydie still didn't see any immediate dangers, well, at least from breathing beasts. She stepped carefully through the thick mulch that was the forest floor beneath them and continuously looked around, her eyes resting on nothing for longer than two seconds and she often glanced around her, on high alert, because she needed to be.

Rodan was looking around too, "You're a natural at this."

"At what?" Kassydie asked without looking at him.

"At being a champion of the labyrinth." Rodan clarified. "At being a warrior."

Kassydie snorted a laugh of surprise, "Right, right." She said as she giggled, "I'm a warrior! Defeater of all labyrinths!" She looked up into the trees before scanning the ground again. "I've got less than two hours to get to the center _and_ defeat Jareth and I really have no idea how close I am."

"But you're clever," Rodan smiled, "I know you can find a way to defeat Jareth. What were the terms of the labyrinth anyway?"

Kassydie thought about it as she looked around, "He cannot change anything in the labyrinth, not the placement of a stone or the branch of a tree, or else he loses. And I have to defeat the challenges of the labyrinth and make it to the center to take back my baby sister or _I_ lose."

Rodan stretched his arms, "If you don't think you can make it to the center, you could always try to get him to change the labyrinth."

Kassydie yawned, "And seeing as he's probably watching us now you've just given him a heads up."

Rodan frowned and whacked himself in the head, "Whoops. I'll whisper my grand ideas next time."

Kassydie smiled, "Don't worry about it; I don't think anything could make Jareth change this labyrinth anyway. I'll just have to beat him the good ol' fashioned way!"

Or lose and lose her sister and... She wondered what would happen to her if she lost? Would she have to just wander through the labyrinth until something ate her or would she return to Aboveground? Well, she'd rather win than take her chances. Jamie would make a terrible goblin! She sighed; it was her fault Jamie was mixed up in all this. Why had she wished her away? Her grandmother had always said words had certain powers and to be careful with them, and on the day of her funeral she ignores that and says the words her grandmother had hidden from her all her life. And when Kassydie understood Jareth was the goblin king, she'd been happy. The story she'd always wanted so desperately to be true, actually was. And she'd been happy when Jamie had disappeared. She'd spend her whole life making up for that.

"What's wrong?" Rodan asked, noticing her sudden mood change.

"Just thinking about Jamie." Kassydie said.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Rodan pushed.

"I wonder if she's having fun?" Kassydie switched gears.

"With the Goblin King's castle as her play pen? With an entire staff of adorable, baby-loving goblins to crawl around on? I think she's having fun." Rodan listed.

Kassydie laughed as she shifted her gaze around. Did something just move, back behind the shadows? Probably. The important question was if that something would try to eat her. She was so tired of things trying to eat her.

"So," She started, "You're some kind of multiform creature."

Rodan hesitated, thrown by the sudden statement, "Yes?"

"How do you assimilate with your own people? Would the elves just, accept you? Even though you don't have their past?"

Rodan laughed, "But I do, I have been the history of everything, it would be the elves that would need to be accepted by me."

Kassydie chewed her lip in thought but stopped quickly, not wanting Rodan to chastise her like a child again. "What if you had kids with another of your forms?"

Rodan shook his head, "That can't happen, we'd meld. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, Sange and Esten." She'd forgotten that they couldn't touch each other. Then, quick as sound, she was no longer next to him.

Rodan tried to grab Kassydie as she fell but it was instant, he only succeeded in knocking Sharrick from her shoulder, her hair whipping through her hair before she tumbled too far into the oubliette for him to reach. Kassydie's heart lurched to her throat at the sudden fall and she worried that she'd break something this time but a large cushion of moss cradled her at the bottom. She wondered how far she'd fallen, or how big her patch of moss was since she felt she'd fallen pretty far. She saw Sharrick's flame sputter back to life at the top and Rodan's silhouette high above. She couldn't make a very good judge of the distance other than that she'd definitely fallen more than twenty feet.

"Kassydie!" Rodan shouted into the tunnel, his voice ringing with panic. "Kassydie!"

"I'm fine!" Kassydie shouted back as loud as she could, pushing up onto her elbows, "There's moss!"

"I'm going to find something to pull you up! I won't be long!" Rodan promised from high above.

"Don't touch those wet vines!" She shouted but the light from Sharrick was gone, she hoped he'd heard her anyway. She had a funny feeling about those vines. She tried to change the oubliette, make the rocks higher or something, but Jareth's magic was too strong here for that, it felt a lot like that endless corridor had at the beginning of the labyrinth. The Goblin King's magic would always rule his labyrinth more than whatever little powers she had over it.

Kassydie flopped back down into the moss, it was soft and cool and she was very comfortable. She knew she should probably get up and start finding her own way out but something held her to that spot. She felt a familiar change in the atmosphere, one she'd learned to recognize.

"If you're so worried about me every time I get into trouble you should just take me to your castle." Kassydie sat up to stare into the darkness, the black was too thick for her to see.

"Then," Jareth's voice right next to her made her jump, "I would lose."

"Can you see?" Kassydie asked petulantly.

"Can I see what?" The Goblin King enunciated coyly.

"Can you see in this darkness?" Kassydie specified.

"No." He said with a laugh.

"Can fairies lie?" Kassydie huffed, leaning forward to pat the moss and try to search for a wall or an opening or something.

"No," His voice was low and right next to her ear.

Kassydie jumped away, startled since she'd moved away from him. "Then how do you know where I am?" She whined.

"Because you're in my labyrinth. I can see anything here but I know where you are." He explained even though he didn't have to.

"I've been using your labyrinth." Kassydie smirked in the darkness though he couldn't see it. "Like a boss." She added with a giggle.

Even Jareth chuckled a bit at that one. "So you have. It's very fascinating. Have you worked out why?"

"No but I think you know why." Kassydie could only guess at threads. Perhaps it was because her Grandma had had certain powers over the labyrinth? Though Kassydie doubted she'd used them to their full extent. "How close am I to the center?"

"Not close enough." His voice had a different tone to it. Kassydie couldn't decide if he was mocking or disappointed.

"Does that disappoint you?" She asked, trying not to focus on the heat she felt at his nearness, trying not to show how every sentence he said in her ear made her want to move closer.

"It doesn't." He answered but his tone still seemed bothered.

Kassydie looked up at the small light at the top of the oubliette. Something dangled down and swayed into the wall halfway through the shaft.

"Not long enough!" Kassydie shouted up, she felt Jareth move slightly away at the sudden loudness. She couldn't make out Rodan's reply but she was almost sure it was a swear. She smiled. "What are you thinking about?" She asked when she felt Jareth move closer to her again.

Jareth didn't answer for so long that Kassydie didn't think he would. "Sange." His tone was so bitter the word sounded like a curse. Kassydie felt a twinge in her heart at the loss of her friends, that she'd never again see the people who had helped her most in this dangerous maze.

"Why?" She managed to whisper. Kassydie leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. In the dark, they seemed so much deader than in the light. It was harder to pretend they hadn't really died, harder to accept that they were part of a new personality, especially since she wasn't looking at Rodan.

She felt Jareth stand beside her and she thought he was leaving. But she felt him kneel in front of her and his gloved fingers brushed against her cheeks.

"You're crying," Kassydie nodded, knowing he wouldn't see but not quite able to see. "Did you love him?"

"In a way, I did." She told him. There were many different kinds of love. She hadn't been in love with Sange but she had loved him. She'd loved them both, they'd been such sweet and caring friends and her heart ached for them down in that dark place. "He was so nice. He helped me so much." Kassydie managed a choked laugh, "He saved my life more times than I could."

She heard Jareth sigh, "It's difficult to dislike him when you remind me."

The way he said it, the way his voice sounded, Kassydie wasn't surprised when Jareth kissed her. His leather wrapped hand tilted her chin up and his lips met hers in a soft crush that made her wish he wouldn't pull away so soon. But she felt him rise after a few fast seconds.

"Don't come to the castle." _Don't defeat me._ "Stop trying to solve the labyrinth." _Stop trying to leave me._" You won't survive if you don't." _I won't survive if you do._

A crystal sphere rolled into Kassydie's feet when he left. She picked it up but she couldn't look into it in the darkness. The vine dropped to her and swung against her knees as soon as she put it down in the bed of moss. Kassydie placed her foot in the loop tied at the end and tugged on the rope.

Her thoughts swirled around what she'd have seen if she'd accepted the crystal as she ascended out of the oubliette.

*^*%*^*

Had he stopped at only a single kiss? One, short kiss when he wanted to take her into his arms forever and ever and never let go?

He tapped his riding crop impatiently against his boots. He wished Kassydie would stop fighting to defeat him, to get out of the labyrinth and take back her sister. He didn't want her to leave him. Sarah had wounded him deeply when she'd left but he did not doubt that Kassydie would break him, shatter him.

He watched the clock, willing it to go faster but unable to push it forward like he had with Sarah. If he pushed Kassydie's time forward she would win by default. An hour and a half seemed too long to wait. The minutes stretched and Jareth felt every single second. Kassydie had only been a few miles away from his castle. She could make it in that time if she did not face death. Yet, Jareth couldn't bring himself to hope that she would face another beast that would try to claim her life. How could anyone wish harm on the one they loved? He didn't think he'd ever stop kicking himself for letting her enter the labyrinth on her own terms. She didn't know what was good for her and now Jareth couldn't manipulate the labyrinth to help her out of deadly situations like he had with Sarah. And besides that he didn't think his heart could take very much more of it. Every time he thought she was going to die he got sick with worry and his heart burned with fear. But she always made it through. Some how, in some impossible way, she managed to live.

An hour and twenty-nine minutes.

Jareth suppressed a groan. This was going to kill him for sure. He was the _Goblin King_! He shouldn't have to wait! He had to distract himself somehow.

Jareth rose elegantly from his thrown as his raucous goblins entered the court room. He strode back to the nursery where Jamie was sleeping. He stood over the crib and wondered if he should wake her up. She looked so comfortable. He hovered there for a few moments, debating whether to try to wake her up or not. As he decided to selfishly wake her she stretched her tiny arms over her head and blinked the sleep away.

"Jarth." She yawned and Jareth picked her up.

"Good morning." He greeted happily as he carried her out into the courtroom and sat her on his lap at his throne. There, distraction.

She looked up at him as she chewed on the end of his riding crop.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, knowing she was. He snapped his gloved fingers at a waddling goblin servant, "Bring us a human breakfast, something made of... strawberries." He looked at Jamie, yes, strawberries.

Jamie seemed to recognize the word and she laughed as she rocked backwards on his knee. It had been a good guess.

"Kashry?" She asked as she looked around the courtroom, searching to see if Kassydie was among messy gathering of goblins.

"Soon, Jamie, very soon." Jareth promised, tickling her until her giggles pierced through the castle.

"My Lord." A voice sounded from across the throne room. Jamie looked over at the woman she'd never seen before and gawked as only a toddler can. Jamie watched, mesmerized by the copper hair that stretched past the woman's knees and her eyes looked like they were made of rainbows as the soaked in the colors around her. Jamie reached out for her, eager to tug and chew at the woman's hair.

Jareth held Jamie up to his adviser and she took the little girl into her arms. Jamie wasted no time in grabbing a fistful of her long hair.

"You look a little bit more yourself." Jareth noted, seeing the way her eyes seemed to absorb the information available in the room, as though she'd remembered how to pay attention again.

"Please, do not mistake my appearance to mean that I have succeeded in my venture." She sighed, her entire posture screamed defeat. "It is simply that a few pieces of myself have returned to me from distant places. There was a war somewhere out there."

Jareth waved this away. His advisor was always gaining more of her soul back a little at a time since she had stretched it to so many beings over the universe that at least one of them returned to her a day through death.

"Tell me instead of why you are returned with your task still yet unfinished." His green eyes shone with anger. How had she failed to complete this task? She knew exactly where the iyoui she'd created was!

"He has buried himself underground in such a way that I am not able reach him."

"Are you sure there is no way at all to command him?"

She shook her head, "My freewill stays with every piece of my soul, it's easier to gain information that way."

Jareth already knew this but he figured it would not hurt to try again. Now there was only one more option.

"Tell me where he last was. It seems that I am to hunt this creature." Which would be extremely difficult because he was not allowed to change the physical make-up of his labyrinth until Kassydie either lost to it, or defeated it. He had been arrogant with the promise he'd made her, believing that he would not need to change anything in it at all to defeat her, he'd also believed she would be able to defeat whatever trouble the labyrinth gave her in order to stay alive despite the fact that it was meant for his enemies. And so far, he had done just that.

"He tunneled into the cliffs and-ouch!" The multiform untangled her hair from Jamie's hand and pulled a lock of it over her shoulder so that Jamie could tug as much as she liked and not affect her scalp. Jareth chuckled as if he'd planned it as a prank. "And has sealed off every opening I could find."

Jareth turned his 'sight' to the cliffs. "I can not see him, are you sure?"

She sighed, "He has used a Magyck to cloak himself. The only reason I was able to find him was because he and I are of the same essence. Though I do not doubt an infamous practitioner in the Fairy Hunt will have too much trouble finding him."

Jareth's lips turned up into an amused smile, it had been awhile since he'd participated in the Hunt but he had always been the best by far. He'd stopped because it had become too easy. Now, he had a little under an hour and a half to find a cloaked creature in his labyrinth without changing the physical make of it. The challenge filled his blood with adrenaline and the Goblin King found that he looked forward to this hunt.

"Keep Jamie happy, I will be back before Kassydie arrives."

If she arrived of course.

*^*%*^*

"You still couldn't have known that!" Kassydie blanched at the thought of what could have happened if the vines Rodan had used to pull her up actually had been poisonous. He'd probably have died before he could finish pulling them away from the tree.

"I can't believe you're mad at me." Rodan shook his head like a man who has already won an argument.

"I wouldn't be if it hadn't been the _first_ thing you tried! Maybe not if you'd even _thought_about another alternative!" Kassydie huffed and crossed her arms.

"Okay, okay," Rodan held his hands up, the smugness gone, "Sorry but I was worried you were broken or something."

Kassydie sighed, "Sorry I yelled at you, you just shocked me. Thanks for getting me out." She couldn't stay mad at him for helping her, even if he had freaked her out.

Rodan nodded and ruffled her hair. Kassydie leaned away from him after letting him do it for a very tiny bit. She hated it when people ruffled her hair as if she were a child, but Rodan didn't seem to care. She took Sharrick off of his shoulders and cuddled her. It was much brighter in this part of the forest; Kassydie just hoped she'd led them the right way.

The castle looked huge, illuminated in a soft light by the morning sun. Kassydie cheered and jumped with Sharrick. They were so close! Probably only a half an hour away! Well, if there weren't any life threatening delays of course.

They were in another maze made of hedges but this place felt more like a courtyard. Kassydie led the group forward and they were in a large clearing with a fountain and a garden of flowers. She could practically see the path through this place. It was suspiciously easy and set Kassydie more on edge than any other riddling path she'd faced before.

How could she be so close to the castle and yet see not a single danger? It was a trick, a trap of some sort, it felt so obvious, as if she should already see or know what was going on. Like with a 'spot the Indians' game. I spy with my little eye something incredibly deadly! Kassydie proceeded cautiously, she petted Sharrick nervously.

"Calm down," Rodan admonished with an amused smile.

"I'm calm," Kassydie growled causing Rodan to laugh.

"You're very expressive." He informed. "You're like a book."

Kassydie touched her own book. "Am not," She protested, pulling it out of her pocket and looking at it again. After Mirahnda had cleared her room of all her books this was all she had left. She wondered how time was passing Aboveground? Was each hour here slower or quicker than an hour above? She wished she'd thought to ask Jareth. She'd ask him when she showed up at his castle and defeated him. A small smile played at her lips at the thought, and for the first time since she'd entered the labyrinth she wondered what she was going to do after she rescued Jamie. Could she be satisfied with just going back and living out the rest of her life like her grandmother had? Of course, Sarah had been convinced he was evil, especially when she couldn't get into contact with her friends after that last night with them, thinking he'd blocked them from coming back. Kassydie had always suspected differently, then again, she'd always preferred the villain of the fairytales. She'd had a crush on Jareth ever since the first time her grandmother had told her the tale, not like she'd ever admit that to anyone.

"You should stay here," Rodan said all of the sudden, snapping her thoughts back to the future. "There's nothing for you above right?"

Kassydie shook her head with a smile. "I have Jamie. I know I'm leaving for university soon but it's a local college and I can still come take care of her. I couldn't leave Jamie. And as awful as Mirahnda is I couldn't take Jamie from her to stay down here with her."

But, Kassydie thought it would be amazing to raise Jamie with the faeries. She'd have an entire world of magic to play in; maybe they could teach her to be a wizard. That'd be fun, to have a magical childhood; she could grow up learning to bargain with kelpies and race gargoyles through the air.

Rodan sniffed pompously, "You'd do much better down here."

Kassydie playfully punched his arm, "Are you saying I'm not smart enough for university?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'd fight through that well enough but then what?" Rodan asked, Kassydie's most detested question.

"That's too far away. I'll figure it out when I get there." Kassydie huffed, stepping carefully around a patch of flowers. Or should she be walking on the flowers? Which was safer?

Rodan chuckled, "Spoken like a fairy." He swooped down and plucked a flower.

Kassydie frowned, "Oh great, now the evil flower monsters know we're here and they'll come after us to dine on our flesh."

Rodan smirked with his flower, "Aren't you used to that yet?"

Kassydie laughed, "Yes, I'm a bad ass heroine, nothing phases me. Just call me Maka Albarn. You can be my Weapon."

"I think you're babbling," Rodan interjected.

"I think you're right." Kassydie jumped a little bit to try to see over the hedges. She was almost to the castle.

*^*%*^*

It was no task at all for Jareth to get into the tunnels the iyoui had supposedly burrowed into. He simply moved the labyrinth around himself until he was inside the tunnels. Easy.

Jareth focused his awareness, searching for a specific body. The iyoui. Of course, this was rather difficult since he had never actually encountered an iyoui before. They were all extinct in Underground as well as in the Aboveground. They had been since men began to crawl away from the mud of Africa. Before his time, anyway.

But now here goes his multiform advisor mixing herself up in such a way that she splits into an extinct species. She was insane when she created too many souls and let them stay so close to her. One she could handle but she'd had four around her, screaming into her consciousness with their own. Jareth had no doubt that in her insanity she created the iyoui on purpose.

Jareth found a hole in his awareness. Something he did not recognize. And so, like the old days when they would go Aboveground for the Hunt, Jareth summoned his horse and rode toward the hollowness.

The caves began to reek of blood and he knew he was close. He saw the bodies; the prettier, meaner, creatures of his kingdom were splayed open, their organs gone and the gremlins of the earth lapped at their cooling blood. But they scattered before the hooves of the Goblin King's steed. He would exact vengeance for the people of his kingdom who had been slain for a monster's appetite. Jareth would kill the iyoui before it had a chance to rise from its meal.

*^*%*^*

"This is really boring," Rodan finally said.

Kassydie suppressed a growl of frustration, "We aren't getting any closer!" She despaired.

Rodan nodded, "I suppose this is the challenge of the maze."

Sharrick sniffed the air, trying to find a clue about the maze in her own little salamander way.

The hedges leered at Kassydie. Tormenting her with the seeming ease of their travel. Kassydie took another turn. Perhaps she was doing it wrong...

After about ten more minutes of fruitless travel over the stones and flower beds Kassydie decided that one hedge was being particularly snotty and deserved a good kicking.

But when she kicked it, her foot did not connect with leaves and branches, but kept going through and through and through. The feeling unbalanced Kassydie and she tumbled through the hedges like Haruhi through the floor of Music room 3.

"Oh!" Kassydie exclaimed, annoyed that she hadn't understood earlier.

"Kassydie!" Sange popped his head through the bushes, his expression of worry faded when he found that she was well. "You scared me, I though you were going to be eaten."

"Thank you for coming to my rescue then." Kassydie joked sardonically as she stood up.

Sharrick came padding through the hedges on her six little feet at about the same time Rodan stepped completely through.

"I can't believe we didn't figure this out." Rodan sighed.

Kassydie nodded. "I've got little more than an hour left to get to the castle and defeat Jareth." She said the last with a tone of melancholy. She hadn't really thought about it before. But if she got to the castle, she would have to fight with everything she had to defeat him. And he would do the same to defeat her.

"Don't worry," Rodan said, not understanding her melancholy and patting her shoulder gently, "I know you can do it."

Sharrick seemed to understand a little better and nuzzled her leg with her furry face.

"Thanks," She said to the both of them. "I think I can get us there now." She began walking into the darkness.

The darkness closed absolutely around them.

The group felt their way along in the darkness, Kassydie at the lead.

As a bell tolled away her hours in the distance Kassydie felt something pierce through her leg. She was dragged away, her scream cut off by whatever anesthetic drug the creature had on its sharp weapon. She was asleep before she could do much more than gasp in surprise.

*^*%*^*

Jareth moved easily to the end of his trail.

And found nothing. It was no matter, he would find the iyoui.

But then something tugged sharply at his consciousness and Jareth swore in the ancient tongue of the fairies.

"Kassydie," He charged his horse towards her, knowing the iyoui had tricked him to get to her.

**DONE! Thank you everyone for being so patient with me! I've kept getting reviews and favorites and it made me so happy! (It also reminded me to hurry up and finish the damn chapter!)  
The next chapter is the final hour! I'm so nervous! ****  
Please bear with me as I write this chapter! And I love and appreciate all of your reviews! Please continue to give them to me!**


	15. 13th Hour

**It's here! Finally! The final hour!**** I'm excited and nervous and I hope that this final hour lives up to everyone's expectations! I don't want to sit here and give some sappy spiel, (I'm saving that for the last chapter), so I'll stop procrastinating with this and get right to it!**

The fairy horse began to wheeze and falter in her steps as she was pushed past her limits, which was a very difficult thing to do because fairy horses are bred to hunt for twelve hours straight. Jareth, however, had managed to push his best royal horse to her limits. The horse felt as if it would drop from underneath him at any moment. It would probably die from exhaustion.

But it was for Kassydie.

The iyoui was tricky. He had managed to corrupt his own magical signature to fool Jareth's magic. Jareth couldn't use his powers over the labyrinth to go to the iyoui; it had masked itself with heavy, ancient magic that Jareth had never experienced.

But Jareth had earned his place as the King of the Fairy Hunt in days past and he hadn't lost his edge even though he'd not participated in the Hunt for centuries. He had already found the iyoui's sloppy trail; it was not as carefully hidden as his magical signature had been. Jareth smirked despite the situation. He was hunting an ancient and powerful creature but it was almost too easy to follow him. The decoy trails seemed half-hearted; it was almost as if the iyoui wanted to be found.

And Jareth would find him soon. The iyoui had Kassydie, his Kassydie. Jareth would hunt down the iyoui and make him beg for his death. But he would not receive it.

The horse faltered over the gravel and twisted her leg. Jareth vanished from the horse and reappeared beside the fallen beast. He looked at the leg growled in frustration. He set the leg and healed it. Healing took a lot of magic. Jareth received his magic from his court and from the labyrinth. His court wasn't around him and if he took magic from the labyrinth he would violate Kassydie's terms.

Jareth jumped back onto the horse's back as soon as she was up and pushed her forward. She obeyed, her hooves echoing throughout the lightless tunnels, her snorts bouncing back from the walls and filling the atmosphere with exhaustion and determination. Blood splashed under her hooves.

An inhuman roar echoed from the distance.

Jareth's heart pounded with a foreign emotion as he thought about what that scream meant. Jareth placed a gloved hand over his treacherous heart and tried to get rid of the emotion.

He was afraid.

The Goblin King was afraid for a mortal's life.

*^*%*^*

Jareth's advisor watched Jamie crawl around on the stone floor of the thrown room. Most of the goblins had gone to find other distractions but there were a few that were happily entertained with entertaining the baby. They threw chickens at each other and giggled with Jamie pulled their disproportioned appendages.

Her coppery hair pooled on the floor as she bent down and picked Jamie up again. She found that she couldn't leave Jamie alone for much longer than five minutes. She liked looking at her, and holding her. It was fascinating. This was a child. An infant. She moved and giggled and she was so very tiny but someday she would grow big and strong and smart. She'd never had a child of her own; she'd never held one, not in this body.

"Hello, Jamie," She cooed to the tiny person in her outstretched arms. She bounced her in the air briefly and pulled her close.

"Jarth?" Jamie asked.

"He'll be back." She promised.

"Kashry?"

"She's coming soon," She assured her.

"You?" Jamie demanded.

"My name?" Jareth's court advisor paused; she didn't often give out her name. She was superstitious; she didn't like people running around with her name. But she didn't think it would hurt to tell it to Jamie. "It's Aura."

"Ara." Jamie tried, satisfied with her pronunciation she continued, "Medsins?"

Aura looked at the pink bottle next to Jareth's throne. She set Jamie on the throne and picked it up. She opened the bottle and sniffed it. She held it away from her with a cringe.

"You ingest this filth?" She asked incredulously.

Jamie simply tilted her head, waiting for the nasty medicine to be squirted into her mouth. Waiting for the medicine that kept the larvae living in her blood from growing and hatching.

Aura tossed the bottle away with a grimace.

"You don't need that garbage, it's gross."

Jamie watched the bottle but she didn't understand its significance, it was simply her routine. But she certainly wasn't going to complain if she didn't have to take it. It really was disgusting.

"Let's go play in the garden." Aura said, picking up the baby from the throne and heading out. It'd be fun to find all the creepy, scary bugs children are usually frightened of and make sure Jamie knew not to be afraid of them.

*^*%*^*

Rodan ran with Sharrick in his arms. Sharrick mewled her distress to the tunnels, using the echoes to determine which direction Kassydie had been taken, like the sonar abilities of a bat. She lit Rodan's path with a constant stream of flame from her little nose.

Rodan panted as he ran; trying desperately to catch up to the evil thing that had pierced Kassydie's leg then stole her drugged body into the depths of the tunnels.

He used his own advanced hearing to listen for anything out of the ordinary. There was plenty of shuffling in the darkness, especially as their journey began to cross the sloppy trail of bodies, his feet splashing through puddles of cold blood. He cringed at the slaughter, his Elvin instincts didn't take well to the slaughter of anything.

Sharrick's flame revealed the mangled corpses of elves, dwarves, goblins, pixies, and many other fey inhabitants of Jareth's realm. Their blood spilled over the stone floor of the uninviting tunnels, the scent of it was like a veil in the air that Rodan couldn't escape. He saw Redcaps reveling in the great rivers of blood and shuddered, using his magic to shield him and Sharrick's presence. It seemed as if all the Redcaps in Jareth's kingdom had come down to these caves of death to dance and soak in the blood the nameless monster had spilled.

It was as if the creature was luring the Redcaps in.

Rodan raced on, wishing he could find Kassydie quickly.

He hadn't even known her very long but she was dear to him. She was his first friend in this existence. She'd been a wonderful friend to Sange and Esten as well. He could sense them, if he concentrated hard enough. It was getting harder to feel his past lives as his own ran on. By the next day he wouldn't even remember he'd been them, unless he was near another piece of his split up soul.

He wanted to remember how much Sange and Esten had loved Kassydie. She had been a light to him and even during his short existence he could feel it. He was drawn to her, like a moth to flame. Her every word demanded his loyalty, her every movement extracted his kindness. Her aura coated the world around her with a sense of strength and fierceness. It was as if just being near her could be rejuvenating. Kassydie was full of energy, spilling vast amounts of energy into the world around her. It was as if she was a conduit of the magic of his world.

It was exactly like that, Rodan realized.

And that was why she had been hunted by that creature and by many others in the labyrinth. Greed could overcome the feelings of compassion Kassydie could evoke just by existing. There were creatures in this world that would want to siphon the energy Kassydie held. She could make them so much stronger if they knew how to take the energy. Rodan had no doubt the evil creature that had stolen her would know exactly how to take her powers.

Rodan found himself filled with a new burst of energy and pushed himself to run faster, harder. He ignored the burning of the rancid air in his lungs and the acid feel of his blood pumping through his muscles. He had to run. He had to help Kassydie.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie rose to consciousness with a sharp gasp. She felt every wound on her body more acutely than she ever had and the pain caused her to scream before she could even try to stop herself. Kassydie panted and struggled to control it. It took longer than she'd have liked. She'd have liked to wake up without any noise at all, wasn't that what you were supposed to do when you were kidnapped?

There were fingers at her neck and she yelped and tugged away. To her surprise, she couldn't get very far. Her arms were strapped tightly by her sides, her legs were bound tightly together and her ankles were strapped down as well. Kassydie couldn't move to inspect what held her down but it felt like some sort of metal shackle.

At least the hand didn't try to touch her neck again. Kassydie slid her gaze up the length of the arm and bit back another shriek when she discovered what it belonged to.

Kassydie wished that whatever phosphorescent substance illuminated the tunnels here would leave her in darkness. She didn't want to see the creature that had kidnapped her.

It was a man, sort of. The luminous white light revealed his skin to be as black as oil. He had no hair and his sharp teeth were brilliantly white against his skin. He looked at her with pure white eyes that made Kassydie wonder if he was blind. The creature's hands were large, his fingers were unnaturally long. Kassydie noted that his chest was bare of clothing and worried as she looked down. The creature's human body ended at his stomach. His body became that of a spider. It was a terrifying parody of a centaur. Instead of a horse's body this man had the body of a black widow, without the bloody splash of an hour glass underneath. His slick black body looked more venomous than a poisonous spider could ever manage. The ends of his legs were sharp and deadly. Kassydie knew from experience that they were coated in a sort of drug that would render his victims unconscious from the slightest scratch.

Though he'd hardly scratched her. Kassydie was fully aware of the gaping hole in her leg though she didn't seem to be losing any blood. It must have been the spider-man's poison. She didn't bleed but every scratch caused more agony than it should. The gash on her neck burned underneath the scrap of Sange's shirt.

This creature had wanted to reveal it but Kassydie wouldn't let it even if it was the last thing she did. And it probably would be. It seemed like a silly thing to fight for, but she was about to lose her life, she would at least win something.

"If you touch my neck again I'll bite your damn fingers off." Kassydie promised with more brevity than her pounding heart suggested she had.

The creature simply cackled, his deep voice echoing ominously through the cavern they were in.

"You're in no position for demands." His accent was strange. It was as if he was biting every word, punishing it for leaving his lips. He obviously wasn't used to speaking at all.

"Underestimate me," Kassydie dared, "Please."

The creature laughed again. Kassydie opened her awareness to search for the threads of the labyrinth she had been able to control. She'd bring the entire tunnel down to kill this creature. Hatred and death poured off of him in waves. Kassydie would sacrifice her chance to save Jamie to ensure that this creature was obliterated. She'd kill a thousand people to make sure this thing died, if she had too. She felt horrible for feeling that way but she couldn't help it, so she didn't try.

The thing laughed at her, soaking in the hatred in her eyes. Delighted by her hate in such a way that it seemed as if he craved it. Kassydie grasped desperately for any strands of power and found none.

"I can feel you looking."

Kassydie pulled as far away from him as possible. She was cut off from the labyrinth. He'd done it somehow. How had he done that?

"You had so much power inside your little mortal body." He seemed to linger on his s's, hissing them out as if he knew it made her more uncomfortable.

"I drank it all." He whispered a thousand times in the cave. "And the power began filling you again!" His voice was shrill with glee. "It fills you now."

He was right. Kassydie could feel energy seep slowly into her body, trying to build up enough to give her the power to tear down to walls, to cave in the ceiling.

He reached for her neck again but Kassydie thrashed, to keep him from it.

"Fine!" His roar was sudden and shrill and Kassydie shook with terror.

"I could have been so kind." He hissed and Kassydie blanched, "I could have just used the old wounds to take your power but you don't want me to touch them! It doesn't matter; I'll have so much more fun making new ones."

Kassydie felt creatures move in the shadows around her and she knew they were more sinister than the snickering goblins that had dashed around Toby's bedroom. The chittering sounds in the shadows around her echoed a hundred times and begged for blood.

"What are you?" Kassydie demanded as his hand came close to her. The creature paused again.

"You won't delay me." He said, and Kassydie's hopes crashed. "I can communicate while I work. But can you?"

Kassydie was prepared to come back at him with a saucy quip but he dragged his talon-like nails over the skin of her chest that her dress of flowers did not cover. He clawed and dug at her and Kassydie's screams filled the air so quickly that she felt as if she was choking on them. The creature had some sort of poison in his nails and the new wounds burned like fire as Redcaps poured from the shadows to revel in the fresh blood that coated the stone table around her and seeped down to drip to the floor.

The monster stopped his scratching and laid his hand flat over her chest. The burning ran anew and a long scream tore itself from Kassydie's lips as he began stealing the magical energy away from her, using pain as the conductor to draw it out.

It was a violation of the worst kind. He was stealing the very essence of her life and yet it wouldn't kill her. He was weakening her in the most intimate way and it could be done over and over again as the magic of the universe, the magic that connected all things as one on some deeper and more important level, drew itself to Kassydie.

Kassydie writhed, determined to get away from this creature, trying desperately to keep him away so that she could keep the energy that wanted her so desperately. She could feel it try to return to her, she could feel it fight him as she did but he tore it viciously away and it hurt her as if it were one of her own limbs being shredded and torn away.

It ended but the burn lasted and Kassydie whimpered without the energy to scream.

The creature sighed unhappily, "I'd like to get it pure, it's so battered and beat up this way." He leaned over her, his blank eyes searching her face and Kassydie didn't want to look at him but she had no choice. "It still makes me stronger." The evil, sharp teeth grinned down at her maliciously and Kassydie closed her wet eyes in exhaustion and fear.

She couldn't think of a way out of this situation. There was nothing the creature wanted other than to torment her.

She could do nothing but hope for unconsciousness.

*^*%*^*

The Redcaps scattered before their king, watching him warily in case he disapproved of their blood bath. He hardly cared. As soon as he passed, their reveling resumed.

The Redcaps were not Jareth's problem. They hadn't even slain the blood they were soaking their dripping caps in. Jareth knew he was getting closer to wherever the beast was keeping Kassydie. Now was the time to plan what he was going to do. That part was easy, he was going to simply charge in and slaughter the creature that had stolen his Kassydie. But why had it stolen her? Why had it bothered to capture her and carry her away instead of just killing her like it had other inhabitants of his kingdom? He could feel her, nestled in the threads of his labyrinth. Her life glowed and pulsed, brighter than any other creature ever had in his land.

His realization took the air out of his lungs in a surprised gasp. Jareth vowed to flog himself as soon as he'd finished rescuing Kassydie. There was no reason not to have realized this before. The magic in the world was pouring into Kassydie. Pulling to her and wrapping her, coating her, filling her with powers she did not fully understand. Being in the labyrinth had made her aware of how to use them, had brought her closer to the power. Jareth hadn't noticed before, he had been so focused on obtaining her that he had failed to see the power she contained. There was no limit to the amount of power she could hold. Jareth focused on the light she made in his kingdom. It pulsed slowly and dimmed slightly with each pulse. Jareth growled menacingly into the darkness when he realized she was being drained.

He felt her screams with his entire body and hot rage pulsed in his blood. The creature would pay dearly for what he was doing to her.

*^*%*^*

Rodan was alarmingly close to Kassydie, he did not like the way he found this out.

Rodan was alerted to Kassydie's nearness by the unending sound of her screaming. It was the sound of pure pain and the sound of her anguish angered him. Sharrick shrilled like a burning flame and struggled in his arms.

"Be still, Sharrick," Rodan urged through clenched teeth as Kassydie's screams burned into his psyche, "There's nothing you can do, we'll get there faster this way."

Sharrick stopped trying to get down but her little body shook in time with the young woman's screaming.

Fear and anger burned in the pit of Rodan's stomach. He prayed he arrived in time to help her.

*^*%*^*

Kassydie did not receive the blissful gift of unconsciousness. The creature would not allow it.

Kassydie panted in her binds, unable to move, unable to sleep, unable to regain any power at all. Tears mixed with her own blood as it soaked into her hair and seeped up to her scalp. Kassydie's vision pulsed in red and she could feel nothing at all other than the pain, and it made her angry.

"Jareth will come," Her voice was weak behind her gasping breaths. But as she spoke the statement she knew it was true and she began to hope.

The creature laughed his awful scratching laugh, "And then what, little thing?"

"And then he blows your head off." Kassydie glared.

"I see." The creature smiled. "When he comes, I shall vanquish him with your own powers. You've made me so very strong."

Kassydie struggled in her bindings as the creature tore the flower dress to reveal her scratched and bruised stomach. He jabbed a sharp knuckle into the hand shaped bruises from her nightmare in the Pond. Kassydie grunted with pain and tried to move again, rubbing her wrists and ankles raw with her struggles.

"Don't touch me, filthy thing!" Kassydie commanded with more authority than she had. The tone of her voice actually made the iyoui pause before he could stop himself.

When he realized what he'd done he drew his hand back and slapped her mercilessly across the face.

Kassydie's head snapped to the side with the force of the slap but she refused to cry out. She glared defiantly back at him.

"You'll never get away with this."

"Everyone says that." His sharp grin was cruel and he punched her roughly on the wound he had made on her chest.

Kassydie tried valiantly to hold back the shriek of pain but it tore itself forcefully through her lips. Her pain appeased the monster and he refocused his attention to her stomach.

"You can live with your organs outside of your body, as long as they don't receive any damage." He informed her.

Blue eyes widened in horror and Kassydie writhed desperately to get away from him.

"Don't touch me!" She warned, shifting under his evil hands in an attempt to keep him from finding any purchase on her skin. The monster pressed his hand hard on Kassydie's chest, knocking the air from her lungs before she could scream again.

His other hand began digging at her stomach, tearing and slicing to get through her skin as slowly as possible. Kassydie worked to get air in her lungs and whimpered soundlessly as he began to draw the power back out of her.

Kassydie finally pulled enough air back into her lungs to scream. She didn't want to, it did nothing to alleviate the pain and only pleased her captor more, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. The screams ripped violently from her and she choked on them as she worked to keep them silent.

Blood pooled all around her, spilling over the stones and flooding to the floor. The monster worked the edges of his slow gash, making the wound wider, intending to slowly strip away all of the flesh of her stomach.

"You have such a lovely tolerance for pain," He complimented, "Must be from all that power you can hold."

Magic came out of nowhere and caused the beast to feel as if he was burning from the inside. His shriek filled the cavern as Kassydie's died to an exhausted whimper. The creature had been so busy gorging himself on Kassydie's magic that he hadn't felt any other creatures come near.

Kassydie angled her head to locate the one who had come to her rescue and her vision blurred when she saw the Goblin King charge into the cavern on a fairy horse. His green eyes glittered ferociously as he leapt from his horse and plunged his sword into the creature's chest.

*^*%*^*

Jareth vaulted off of the iyoui's back, pulling his sword with him and landed between it and Kassydie.

The iyoui was more surprised by the whole in its chest than anything. He used his stolen magic to eat up the burning feeling inside himself and turned glaring white eyes on this new adversary.

"You will pay for what you've done," Jareth promised as he dashed at the creature, sweeping his sword across his stomach and leaping away again.

The creature cackled, "This play is useless, Fairy King."

Jareth's lips twisted slightly and he used his magic to scan the creature and locate its vital organs. They were in the spider part of the beast's body. He didn't have any more magic to spare than that. Kassydie would need his powers for healing.

"Goblin King," He corrected, and dashed to the creature again.

The iyoui was ready for him this time and swept a spider leg into the Goblin King's legs. Jareth rolled right back up and cut off the leg that was meant to impale him.

The creature was fast, but so was he.

*^*%*^*

Rodan and Sharrick entered the cavern and were momentarily distracted by the sight of their king battling a large spider. Rodan's eyes searched the cavern and he found Kassydie strapped to some kind of stone table. He ran quietly toward her, unnoticed by the spider creature. He had time to see Jareth force the monster to parry to the side so that its back stayed to Rodan as he ran to Kassydie.

Sharrick trembled nervously and Rodan fought the urge to be sick as they got close enough to Kassydie to see the wounds she suffered past the pools of blood that drenched her.

"Rodan, you're—"

"Sh!" Rodan interrupted. Sharrick hopped from his shoulder and moved down to her legs to gnaw the ropes off. The metal shackles were going to take more finesse. Rodan's eyes darted up to the battle before them. The creature seemed to be trying to use magic and force to kill the king. He noted that his lord did not return with any magic but spared no time to wonder why.

Rodan couldn't obtain magic as quickly as the king could and it didn't flow into him freely as it did with Kassydie. He would have to conserve every drop of his magic to heal her as much as he could. He looked for any sort of key to unlock the shackles with but found none. He saw a small gleam in Kassydie's hair and pushed the drenched locks aside to remove the mouth shaped clip from her hair. He bent the metal away from the sharp toothed mouth and shaped it as well as he could.

He worked the metal into the lock of the shackles and had the one on her wrist undone in under a minute. He carefully moved to unlock the others.

*^*%*^*

"Why aren't you using your magic?" The beast hissed as it dodged a blow from Jareth.

"I don't need it to finish you off." Jareth returned making another move to dash under the creatures belly and only just managing to jump out of the way of the poison coated leg.

He worked hard to kept the monster's back to Kassydie and try to kill it at the same time.

"You're no match for me." The creature held a hand out and lightning struck the place Jareth had been no more than a second before. "I'm too powerful! I'll keep her alive forever and feed off of her power! I'm no longer a creature of dreams and nightmares! When I return to the mortal world I shall rule the physical realm!"

Jareth barely dodged another swipe of the iyoui's poison covered spider leg and made it a step closer.

The foolish elf behind the monster accidentally dropped the last blood covered shackle to the ground and the creature's head whipped around with a hiss. Rodan froze and ducked as the creature swept a long leg out to kill him. Jareth took the opportunity to slice his sword just under the iyoui's human belly, almost managing to sever it but the iyoui slammed a strong spider leg into Jareth, knocking him into a far wall.

The creature howled angrily and advanced slowly on Jareth as he forced himself to stand up again.

"You can't kill me!" He cried, using stolen magic to heal his torn body and re-grow the parts Jareth had managed to relieve him of.

Jareth sent ice into the creature, freezing it from the inside out, using only the amount of magic an elf could hold at maximum capacity. He doubted it would slow the creature for very long and immediately charged at the beast.

The iyoui howled as it was slowly frozen from the inside out and battled furiously with Kassydie's powers to stop Jareth's spell.

The Goblin King ran under the iyoui, his sword slicing through the exoskeleton of the spider body. He swore when he felt that the sword wasn't long enough to reach the vital organs through the exoskeleton and sent the smallest spark of magic into his sword to shatter the hard outer layer. The iyoui swept him into another wall and turned to face him. The sleek black covering fell away in large chunks to reveal the soft gray sinew underneath, it was all that was covering the monsters organs now and it would take almost all of his stolen magic to regrow. The iyoui stabbed at Jareth but he was fast and merely succeeded in ripping the man's shirt.

Jareth was between the beast and Kassydie again. Rodan was behind the table, chanting over Kassydie's body to stop the bleeding and speed her healing process as much as he could, which was regrettably little since most of his magic was focused on replacing the blood she'd lost.

A ball of flame flew from Jareth's side to roast the iyoui's face. The creature shrieked as the fire burned him quicker than any normal fire could and Sharrick charged toward him with Jareth.

The Goblin King used his sword to keep the iyoui's legs from impaling the salamander and killing it. Jareth was grateful his goblins hadn't managed to capture the salamander as the little thing scurried around, burning the monster as much as she could.

The iyoui healed the burns with his powers but he would not be able to do so for very much longer. Jareth was distracted for a precious second as Kassydie choked back a scream of pain. The creature's antiseptic poison had completely worn off, leaving her more sensitive to the pain of her wounds.

He only just managed to keep the salamander from being killed, the iyoui instead knocking her up and up into the ceiling and letting her unconscious body fall back to the ground.

The iyoui had decided it would be best to use its magic to replace the exoskeleton and he was quickly regrowing the outer layer. Jareth hurried to dig his sword into the beast's belly and cut a leg off as he kicked at another. Jareth gasped and stumbled as a third leg was shoved through his stomach and stumbled backwards, only barely managing to keep his feet.

He swore and healed the wound, burning the poison in his veins immediately. He wouldn't have enough magic to heal Kassydie but he was no good to her dead either.

He couldn't beat the iyoui without his magic. He glanced at Kassydie and his mind was made up.

He tore magic quickly out of the labyrinth around him. He manipulated the walls of his tunnels to shift and close around Kassydie with no opening in or out, he created a new cavern and used a strong burst of magic to throw the iyoui violently into the wall. A new length of the labyrinth was created as he shifted the tunnels around underneath it.

Jareth had broken his promise not to change the physical shape of the labyrinth.

He had forfeited Kassydie's terms of the challenge.

*^*%*^*

Rodan panicked as the walls rose up around him and closed them in with no way out. It was completely dark now and he couldn't see Kassydie right in front of him.

Not until a weak sputtering of flame illuminated Sharrick as she limped on her six legs up to Rodan. Rodan lifted her up onto the table next to Kassydie, a quick look told him two of her legs were broken and four ribs on the right side at least.

"You poor thing, I'll make sure you get all better," He promised. She laid down carefully, issuing a tiny flame from her open mouth to irradiate Kassydie's body.

Rodan resumed his chanting, he was able to replace most of the skin over Kassydie's stomach and chest and her blood was building back up rapidly. He'd used a spell to put her to sleep as soon as the monster's antiseptic had worn off and she'd begun to feel her gruesome wounds more severely.

She slept evenly as the last of Rodan's magic ran its course. She was still badly injured but they were no longer as fatal as they had been. It was a wonder that she had survived it at all. Rodan clenched his fists angrily, knowing the heinous creature had used magic to keep her alive through pain that should have killed her.

He set his hand gently on Sharrick and carefully stroked her fur.

"Sorry, girl," He whispered, "I've got nothing left."

Without the fighting making the room dangerous the few Redcaps that had hidden began to emerge, inching menacingly towards the trio.

"One last tussle?" He asked, Sharrick. The brave salamander rose slowly and roasted all of the despicable creatures with the last of her strength. When she collapsed again she tried to keep up a weak flame to light the room. Rodan stroked her fur. "No, Sharrick let it go. Just rest."

The flame vanished and left the brave company in total darkness.

*^*%*^*

Jareth shattered the new exoskeleton with a slight burst of magic. The iyoui backed away from him furiously, stabbing at him with his poisoned legs but pulling them away before Jareth could take them with his sword. Jareth pulled the roots of great trees, untangling them and commanding them to stretch down and wrap around the iyoui.

The creature snarled and tried to thrash in his bindings. Jareth directed his sword at the creature and magic drifted over it like mist.

"Go ahead, kill me, but I won't be the only one to hunt her." He laughed, the insane sound echoing off of the cavern.

Jareth sheathed his sword and the thing cackled victoriously.

"That's right! You heard me! She uses her magic now! She shines brighter than the sun and it's all there to take, so easy to take."

Jareth nodded slowly, he'd assumed as much when he'd discovered how bright she'd become since entering the labyrinth. She had grown. And soon he would find out if he'd grown like Sarah had. If she'd grown away from him.

The ground fell away beneath the iyoui and revealed a thick black pond beneath him. The tree roots plunged down and released him to the tentacles of Pandora's Pond. Jareth stood on the edge of the cavern he'd made and wondered what kind of nightmares a dream creature would suffer from. Jareth wrapped the tentacles tightly over the beast and closed the hole, returning the pond to its original place in his labyrinth.

Jareth turned to the wall he'd hidden Kassydie behind and it parted before him as if it were nothing more than hanging ivy.

The red haired elf looked up at him.

"Hello," He greeted quietly. The salamander had passed out next to him. Kassydie too was unconscious.

Jareth knelt in by her side and carefully brushed her hair out of her face.

"Thank you for healing her."

Rodan shook his head. "I couldn't do much. I ran out too quickly. All I could do was stop the bleeding and speed up the healing a little."

Jareth's eyes moved down, taking in the large wounds on her chest and stomach. She had suffered much because of him. He wondered if she'd hate him when she woke up. As he carefully picked her up a staircase appeared behind him.

"Bring the salamander."

"Her name is Sharrick." Rodan informed him as he picked her furry red body up and followed his king to the stairs.

Jareth nodded, "Bring Sharrick. I'll send someone to help you heal her. I will take care of Kassydie."

Rodan nodded and followed the Goblin King up the stairs and into a large room with a bed in the middle and cabinets full of herbs and potions. It was the infirmary room of Jareth's castle.

"Set her on the bed there, a healer will be in soon." Jareth assured him as he carried Kassydie away.

Rodan sat on the bed with Sharrick and used some of the magic he'd regained to keep her asleep and painless. The healer would have to take care of the broken bones.

Jareth held Kassydie tight against him as he carried her through his castle. A staircase shifted in front of him and he ascended to his rooms with his sleeping queen.

Jareth laid her carefully on his bed, making sure she was comfortably positioned.

The final bell tolled thirteen times throughout his kingdom.

**Was this-? AN EARLY UPDATE? It hasn't even been three months! And before you all skin me alive for revealing my ability to update at a reasonable time, please remember that there's still one more chapter! ^w^**


	16. The End

**I'm just going to start this before I start crying! TT^TT TOO LATE!**

Kassydie slid easily into the world of the waking. She lay on her back staring up at a wall of dark red. It looked really soft and closer than most ceilings did. She closed her eyes again for a moment. She felt amazing. She couldn't feel a single bruise or scratch and she wasn't feeling whatever that spider beast had done to her. And she felt rested. It seemed as if she had transformed into a superhero. She opened her eyes again. Her right eye felt strange and she realized she couldn't see out of it. She gasped and her hand flew up to feel her eye, she found an eye patch under her fingers and grew puzzled. She pinched the end of it.

"Don't take it off."

Kassydie sat up quickly and found Jareth at her bedside. She was in his bedroom? Her lips parted slightly in shock and she looked at him confused. The creature hadn't done anything to her eye, why was it patched?

"Why not?" She finally asked.

"It'll be too sensitive to the light for a couple of hours. You'd go blind if you took it off now." Jareth said softly, "A nerve was severed when the iyoui dragged you off. You mustn't have noticed because of the darkness and the concussion." He shook his head slightly. "You were terribly battered."

Kassydie snorted, "That's putting it quite nicely."

"I'm sorry I let him get to you. He hurt you so badly." Jareth shook his head, "I didn't think you'd survive."

"It's only because of your mighty Goblin King magic." Kassydie joked, trying to lighten his mood.

Jareth smiled at her and she became self conscious. Kassydie looked around the room and caught her reflection. She inspected the eye patch with a smile.

"It's just like Ciel's."

Jareth ignored the reference and sat down on the edge of the bed, drawing her attention back to him.

"Thank you for coming to get me, Jareth." She smiled at him. "He'd have killed me if you hadn't saved me."

He smiled but his eyes were distant and Kassydie wondered what was wrong.

"How is Jamie? And Rodan and Sharrick?" She asked, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "I remember them; they came to me before I passed out."

"Everyone's fine. Sharrick was broken in many places but Rodan and another healer fixed her up. Jamie found out you were here a couple of hours ago and I had to spell her to sleep before she made herself sick crying." He smiled fondly. Jamie had been an absolute mess. She fussed and screamed until Jareth thought her little lungs would burst.

Kassydie looked down and a tear fell from the corner of her eye. Jareth wiped it away before she could move and gently turned her face to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly.

Kassydie laughed once but it only made her cry again. "I-I wanna see Jamie. I want to say goodbye. And that I'm sorry—"

Jareth shook his head and ran his hand through her hair quickly. "Kassydie, no, you won. You beat me."

Kassydie silenced immediately and confusion consumed her expression, "But, how?"

Jareth watched his hand as he combed it gently through her hair, "I broke my promise, I changed the labyrinth."

Kassydie stilled his hand, knowing he was doing it because he was nervous, "You changed it, to save me? It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes away from the deadline."

Jareth shook his head, "You wouldn't have lasted that long. I couldn't let you die, Kassydie."

Kassydie took a moment to process what he was telling her. He had saved her, knowing it would violate their agreement. He had saved her even though it meant losing Jamie and losing to her. Had he done it because he loved her? Kassydie didn't want to assume how she felt but her heart ached, wanting to know.

"You're not wearing your gloves," She noticed as she ran her fingers over his bare hand. He shivered as fast as a blink and she took his hand away from her hair and held it in both of hers. She ran her fingers carefully over the back of his hand and his palm and looked up to find that Jareth had closed his eyes. She twined her fingers through his and held his hand like that.

He opened his green eyes and looked at her longingly. "I'll have Jamie brought in." He whispered and pulled away.

He disappeared from in front of her and Kassydie moved out of the bed. She looked down and saw that she had been changed into a simple white nightgown. The sleeves were made of inch wide lace and the collar was low. Her lips twisted into a wry smile as she figured out who had picked it out for her. The gown was short with lace trimming the hem. The material felt strange in her fingers, it felt soft and light, like water over her fingers.

Her hand flew to her neck and her blue eyes darted around the room in search of the scrap of shirt Sange had used to wrap the vampire bite she'd gotten before he died. She found it lying clean on the dresser top and wondered why Jareth had thought to save it, much less clean it.

Kassydie picked up the cloth and tore it into three strips. She held the end in her mouth and worked the cloth over itself, braiding it tight and knotting it back over itself in an intricate pattern until it was short enough to wear around her wrist.

She had just tied it on when Jareth walked in with a copper haired woman holding her baby sister.

"KASHRY!" Jamie screamed when she saw her and began kicking at the woman and wriggling dangerously in her arms.

Kassydie rushed to her baby sister before she fell out of the poor woman's arms. Kassydie held her and bounced her as Jamie filled her fists with her hair and clung to her.

"Kashry!" She giggled happily and Kassydie's eyes watered as she held her baby sister.

"Did you have fun with the goblins?" Kassydie asked, wiping her hand across her eye. Jamie looked up with her and patted the eye patch.

Jamie nodded, her brown curls bouncing and her emerald eyes sparkling happily, "The gobble-ins! An a chicken, an French, an Jarth, an Ara, an Zelda, an Limk, an Ishgo, an Amu!"

Kassydie grinned down at her little sister as she started lying about who she'd played with. The copper haired woman watched Jamie enviously. Kassydie watched her until she made eye contact and abruptly looked away.

"Hi, I'm Kassydie." She greeted.

The woman looked at her and frowned, "I can't believe you make that poor child consume that awful liquid!"

Kassydie's eyes widened and she rushed to lay Jamie down on the bed. Jamie looked at her confused and a little scared as Kassydie untangled her little hands from her hair.

"Did you give it to her?" Kassydie asked, panicking as Jareth hurried to the bedside.

"Nonsense!" The woman scoffed, "I threw that filth away!"

Kassydie was on the verge of tears, her heart was beating so fast she thought it would fly out of her chest.

"Jareth, check her, please check her!"

Jareth threw his hands out over Jamie and looked at Kassydie, worried at her anxiety. "What am I looking for?"

"Eggs," Kassydie gasped, trying to control herself as Jamie began to cry. "In her blood stream." Kassydie pet Jamie's hair and whispered to her to calm her down. It worked and Jamie stopped crying, staring up at Kassydie.

Jareth held still and concentrated. He shook his head and his eyes widened, "They're shrinking, melding with her blood cells." Kassydie looked at him incredulously. "Being here Underground is healing her."

Kassydie sank down onto the bed in relief and Jamie got up and crawled into her lap, grabbing a lock of her hair and chewing on it.

"How is it that she has," Jareth shook his head and waved his hand, "Eggs in her bloodstream?"

Kassydie shrugged, "She was born with them." Kassydie covered Jamie's ears. She remembered the awful vision she'd had in the black pond. It was truly what would happen if Jamie's disease advanced. "If-if they ever hatched, they would consume her from the inside."

Aura looked at Jamie, "That is a very rare disease. It's been called Fountain of Youth Syndrome. It only appears in humans about once every century, usually in areas where Anthropophagi have died."

Kassydie raised an eyebrow, this woman knew a lot. "The doctor's found that some cocktail of medicines would keep them from hatching."

Aura shrugged, she didn't have a lot of experience with modern medicine. "If they don't wake up it triples the host's lifespan. It looks like being here in Underground is fixing them, turning them into blood cells."

Kassydie smiled so much she thought her heart would burst and a few tears escaped from her eyes. She removed her hands from Jamie's ears and cuddled her little sister close to her face. Jamie was going to be okay! She'd never have to worry about the larvae again! The magic of Jareth's realm was healing her! Jamie giggled happily at the attention and played with Kassydie's face with her tiny hands.

"Aura," Jareth said, his eyes on the woman, "Did you know Jamie would be alright when you threw her medicine out?"

Aura giggled nervously, "I've got papers to look at." She disappeared before Jareth could growl.

Kassydie missed the exchange because she was happily tickling her baby sister. Jamie giggled happily, enjoying her sister's company as if they hadn't been separated for twenty hours. Jareth sat on the bed on Jamie's other side and watched the reunion with a sense of melancholy. He wondered when she'd ask to go home and if she'd consider staying here with him. He pushed Jamie's hair out of her eyes and earned a happy smile from Kassydie.

It didn't take long before Jamie was asleep again. The playing and excitement had exhausted her tiny body.

Kassydie lay back on the bed and watched Jareth as he got up and moved around to her side. He sat next to her, so close they were touching. He leaned over her, his hand next to her head to support his body. Jareth brushed his fingers over her neck and along her jaw until he reached the eye patch that had protected her adjusting eye.

"It'll be bright when I take it off," He said in a low voice.

Kassydie's heart filled her chest and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Jareth slipped his finger under the patch, careful not to scratch her skin. He slid the patch up and off of her, watching her squint and flutter her eyes to try to get used to the brightness. Her eyebrows furrowed together as soon as she was able to focus on him.

"Jareth, you're glowing." She lifted her hand and swirled her fingers through the air beside his mane of feathery hair.

Jareth's eyes widened slightly, "You're seeing the amount of power I have." He told her quietly.

She held her hand out, playing with the air a foot away from his body. The light shifted around her fingers, the white color shifting playfully over her hand. Kassydie felt it slide, light as a whisper, under her palm. The sensation tickled and made her laugh slightly. She pulled her hand away and looked at it, She had light playing around her hand too, about an inch away. It was the same color but somehow looked different in the sluggish way it moved and the way it felt.

"Mine is slow." She noted with a tiny frown. For some reason it seemed as if it shouldn't be that way.

Jareth nodded, taking her hand in his. "It's usually much faster. The iyoui damaged it when he stole your magic from you. It'll repair itself in a couple of days, once you've got more of it."

Kassydie looked at Jamie. "She doesn't have very much."

Jareth slid his thumb over Kassydie's finger as he looked down at her, "It's because she's young. Actually, most humans don't have as much as she does at that age. For most of the humans I've seen they have about that much magic in them as adults."

Kassydie looked back up at Jareth, "Why do I have so much?"

Jareth slid his hand over her arm and shoulder, feeling as much of her as he dared with Jamie right next to them. "You're special. When I gave Sarah certain powers over me she denied me and forced them back onto me in such a way that I was banished from her presence in this form. I watched her from my crystal for years but she never tried to grasp at those powers again. But when you were born it seemed like she grasped as much of the magic as she could from the earth around her and used them on you, to help you grow and to take care of you. It shouldn't have done much more than keep you optimistic but after awhile, it was like magic went to you, like it wanted you."

Kassydie listened to him explain carefully. It seemed he still remembered how mad she'd been when she'd first found out that he'd been spying on her. She didn't mind any more. It made sense now. He had been in love with her grandmother, and had pined after her for a long time by human standards. Of course he'd watch everything she did.

"Why did you give me that necklace?"

Jareth's hand moved to play through her hair, he seemed to like the feel of it.

"You liked my story. The one Sarah told and the one I wrote in that little red book."

Kassydie's blue eyes widened, "You wrote it?"

Jareth nodded, "I wrote it for Sarah, for her fifteenth birthday. I wanted her to know about me. I wanted her to seek me out. It worked."

Kassydie wondered what happened to it. She'd had it with her before the iyoui had attacked, but where was it now?

Jareth seemed to know her thoughts, "It's in the dresser drawer. Do you want it?"

Kassydie shook her head slowly, "You didn't answer my question. Why'd you give me the necklace?"

Jareth looked into her eyes as he played with her hair, "I wanted to build a bridge to you. I wanted to know you too."

Kassydie bit her lip slightly, "Sorry."

Jareth tilted his head, looking like the owl he often portrayed, "Why?"

"I threw it in her grave. And then I gave it to that gargoyle so he could feel the ley lines again."

Jareth laughed, "It was a trinket, nothing more. I have you here now."

Kassydie glanced at her little sister. "I don't want to be here."

Jareth had watched her gaze and her mischievous expression told him she was not talking about Underground, or even the room, simply her proximity to her little sister. He lifted gracefully from the bed, pulling her up with him and wrapping his arm around her to hold her hand.

"Um," She blushed as they left the room, "Can I see Rodan and Sharrick."

Jareth held back a frown and changed the stairs in front of them. He understood her need to see her friends but he wanted her alone.

Aura passed them on the stairs. She stopped and Kassydie did as well.

"Can I go to Jamie?" The copper haired woman asked and her eyes filled with joy when Kassydie nodded happily. Aura didn't even bother running to the room and instead evaporated into the air.

Kassydie giggled as she continued her descent with Jareth. "She really got attached to Jamie, didn't she?"

Jareth nodded, "She's never had a child of her own in that form."

Kassydie looked behind her though she knew she wouldn't see her. "She's where Rodan and Sange and Esten came from?"

Jareth nodded and Kassydie's mouth moved in a silent 'wow'. Jareth decided not to tell her the iyoui had come from her as well. He could tell her later, when she was farther away from the torture she'd endured.

"Why is she here?" Kassydie wondered, "I mean, not that being here isn't great. But, she can split her soul up, why is she here instead of somewhere, else?"

Jareth smiled, "She wanted to be here. She's my advisor."

Kassydie raised her eyebrows, "Cool."

Jareth was about to ask her how she was feeling about the attack but they had reached the infirmary where Rodan and Sharrick were. They'd left earlier but Rodan had gotten bored and decided to keep the healer company. Sharrick had stayed with Rodan, not feeling the need to go wandering. Jareth let Kassydie go after they saw her so she could run to them. He still didn't like the idea of Kassydie hugging the elf but he had not told her that she was his yet and the elf was no competition anyway.

"Rodan!" Kassydie jumped onto him and hugged him with her arms around his neck.

Rodan laughed and hugged her back before setting her on the ground, uncomfortable with the way the king was staring at him. Sharrick had no such qualms and simply dashed into Kassydie's arms and let her cuddle her.

"How are you?" Rodan asked, looking her over, happy with how healthy she looked.

Kassydie shook her head, "I'm fine. I wanted to say thank you for helping me when the, uh, iyoui kidnapped me." She nuzzled the salamander, "And you too Sharrick."

Rodan smiled at her, "Are you sure you're well?"

Kassydie nodded, "All healed up!"

Rodan grinned, "Well, that was mostly the Goblin King. I could only help your blood replenish itself."

"So, what are you going to do now that you've seen the Origin?" Kassydie asked.

Rodan shrugged, "She wanted me to live. The king said I could be the gatekeeper but that's only a job for when the labyrinth has a challenger. I decided I'd learn from Verynna." He gestured at the healer. "She did a great job of fixing up Sharrick. She's a good teacher too."

Kassydie turned to look at the healer. The blonde woman turned to her, revealing purple eyes and long ears like Rodan's.

"Thank you for helping my friends." Kassydie said, petting Sharrick.

Verynna curtsied to her and Kassydie blushed, "It was no trouble. Rodan has been a great student. I look forward to having him as my apprentice. I'm glad you approve."

Kassydie blushed again, "He doesn't need my approval."

Verynna smiled at her, "You're very kind."

Kassydie looked to Rodan for help, he only shrugged as he enjoyed Kassydie's awkward situation. Sharrick squirmed so Kassydie would let her down. The salamander scampered off to find something else to do in the palace. She seemed to like being there.

Kassydie laughed, "Jareth, you have a new pet."

Jareth laughed with her from his casual position against the wall. "She's great company. She kept me amused while you were sleeping."

"How long did I sleep?" Kassydie asked.

"Seven hours and twenty-one minutes," Verynna offered pleasantly.

Kassydie thanked her and chewed her lip. She couldn't believe she'd been asleep so long when there had been so much to do. Like see Jamie, and thank her friends.

Rodan gave her another hug, "I'm glad I got to see you before you left. I'll be here with Verynna, alright?"

Kassydie nodded and went back to Jareth. She felt him put his arm possessively around her waist but she was thinking about what Rodan had said as he walked with her up the staircase.

Before she left? She didn't want to leave. But she knew she'd have to. She'd beaten Jareth. True, it was only because he'd sacrificed his chance at winning and keeping Jamie to save her but she had won nevertheless. Mirahnda was probably going insane with worry over Jamie. Kassydie didn't like thinking about Mirahnda. Sure she loved her daughter but she wasn't a good role model and she didn't lead the kind of life Kassydie wanted her baby sister to live.

This time, the stairs led to a tower room. There were windows on all sides and a comfortable looking fainting couch in the center of the room on a dark purple rug. Jareth led Kassydie to it and sat behind her as Kassydie curled up on it.

"Kassydie?" He murmured gently against her ear.

"Hm?" Kassydie heard the melancholy in her voice and was glad she hadn't said anything. Actual words would have sounded more depressed than she wanted them to.

"I know you probably don't want to think about what you've been through because of," Jareth paused, "Because of me."

Kassydie turned to him, shocked, "Jareth, it wasn't your fault! None of it! I wished Jamie away, you didn't have anything to do with it."

Jareth shook his head and brushed a finger over her lips. "No, Kassydie. I knew it was dangerous but I got carried away and promised not to interfere with what was in the labyrinth. I was so sure you wouldn't get hurt because you'd give up or simply get lost before you ran into anything deadly but you didn't. You experienced things meant only for invaders and I was too stubborn, too unsure, to end it all." Kassydie was still shaking her head, "Kassydie you've been traumatized. I have to know that your mind is fine."

Kassydie nodded, "I'm fine. It was awful, and I'd rather not think about some things, but I'm fine. I've lost both of my parents and have been living with a nymphomaniac for over a year. It was much easier to have physical monsters to fight and run from." Jareth looked at her sadly, "Jareth—I didn't mean to—I only meant that…"

Jareth shook his head, "You've been through hell and I let it get worse. Your soul could have shattered if you weren't so amazingly strong."

His hand cupped the side of her face and he stretched out to lie beside her. Kassydie was leaning into him before she'd made the conscious decision to.

"Jareth," Kassydie whispered, "Please, I want you to know that I won't ever blame you for anything that happened here."

Jareth looked at her, something burning in his green eyes. "Can you blame me for this?"

His lips pressed against hers, his hand sliding to the back of her head to keep her pressed against him. Kassydie kissed him back with a helpless little moan that drove him crazy. He wrapped his other arm around her and moved so he hovered over her, supporting his weight with his knees arm as his other hand moved over her body, stroking down her arm and up her side. Kassydie wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to him when his tongue begged for entrance. She tried fruitlessly to gain dominance and soon gave in to him, letting him explore her with his lips and tongue. He gave her a moment to catch her breath when he pulled slightly back to tease her lower lip with his teeth. She moved her hand to tangle in his hair and dipped the other to play over the exposed expanse of his chest. He sucked on her lower lip for a brief second, eliciting another moan from her. Kassydie kissed him, letting him slide his tongue back into her mouth, sliding her leg against his as he claimed her mouth. Her hand slid down, reaching for his center and Jareth pulled away from her, grabbing her hand and stopping her from going any farther down.

Kassydie panted slightly from the kiss and Jareth's own breathing was ragged as he forced himself to calm down.

"Kassydie, you aren't ready for that." He murmured against her lips, giving her one kiss before he pulled away to look into her eyes.

Kassydie pouted, "You said yourself I've been through hell. Let me have some fun. With you." She stretched up to kiss his jaw and Jareth wanted to damn responsibility and take her.

"Not yet," He whispered into her ear. "You're too sensitive from everything that happened. I won't have you using sex as a coping mechanism." A darker, much more selfish side of him screamed at him to let her, to take her up here in the tower and never let her go. But she was traumatized, even if she didn't feel it quite yet.

She nuzzled into his neck, trying to break his resolve. "I don't want a coping mechanism, I want your mechanism."

Jareth chuckled at her innuendo and brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles. "Kassydie, I want you to stay. I don't want you to go back Above."

Kassydie sat up with a frown, she didn't push him away, instead, she had used her movement to make him sit up so she could cuddle into him. She didn't want to leave either, ever. But could she really take Jamie away from her mother?

Jareth held her, stroking her hair down her back as he watched her think.

"Mirahnda deserves a chance with Jamie. She's—She's really messed up. But she does love Jamie. Mirahnda needs a chance to show that she can be a good mother for Jamie. But I have to be there too." She buried her face in his chest. "I don't want to leave you," She groaned against his skin, "I want to stay here with you. You're everything I ever dreamed of, all I've ever wished for. And I don't want to leave the fairy world either. There's so much to learn here, so much more to see."

She was torn. Jamie needed a good mother and Kassydie was so sure she was in love with Jareth. She clung to her Goblin King and he held her close to his body.

"Kassydie, I don't want to let you go. And I don't believe that Mirahnda deserves a chance with Jamie but Jamie deserves to make a choice." He held her tighter to him. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait for both of you. Remind Jamie of this place. I will wait for you or her to call for me. I will wait as long as it takes, Kassydie." He tilted her chin up to him and looked at the tears glistening in her eyes. Kassydie truly didn't want to leave him but she knew she had too. It was only fair. And some things in life _had_ to be fair.

"Jareth, keep my grandmother's book. I'll come back for it."

Jareth kissed her, claiming her mouth desperately as she clung to him.

"I love you, Kassydie." Jareth proclaimed. "I'm yours; I'll do whatever it takes. We will see each other again."

Kassydie nodded, failing to keep her tears from falling. Jareth kissed them away.

"I love you," She whispered up to him. "Is there any way we can see each other?"

Jareth produced a crystal from the air, letting it fall and swoop around his hand before he held it up to her.

Kassydie smiled sadly and took it. "What is it?"

Jareth smiled back. "It's a crystal, nothing more," He turned it in her hand, "But, if you turn it like this, and look into it," He kissed her softly and it told her everything she needed to know, "It'll show you your dreams."

*^*%*^*

The young lady sat in the middle of the park by a pond and a bridge and looked up at the gray sky. She knew it would rain soon and that she should get back home but home was horrible while her older sister was at work.

The fifteen year old sat up as the first drops of rain began to fall out of the sky and imagined she was in a perilous labyrinth battling dangerous creatures to save a poor damsel from a monstrous goblin. It was a little different from her sister's story but she needed a villain so she could be a hero, not a love-struck little pansy.

But, her games ended as the rain poured down and she was forced back into reality. She ran the few blocks back to her house and opened the door quietly. Sex noises filled her house, from more than two people, and she ran back out into the city. She stood in front of a diner for a second and pushed her way into it.

A beautiful woman of thirty three years was waiting tables. She looked like she hadn't aged a day over eighteen, only her hair had changed, it had gotten longer and was swinging past her waist.

The little girl sat down miserably at a table and the woman quickly maneuvered the sea of calling men to sit down across from the girl with a cup of tea.

"Jamie, you're crying."

"It's the rain." She insisted as her sister tucked her soaked shoulder length curls behind her ear.

"What happened?" Kassydie asked.

"You know…" Jamie shrugged, "I went home but mom was busy."

Kassydie looked at the girl sadly, "Are you alright?"

Jamie shook her head, "I don't want to go back."

Kassydie frowned, "Jamie, you can't say things you don't mean. Ever."

Jamie sighed and looked up at her sister. "I do mean it, Kassydie. Let's leave! Let's run away! Mom doesn't need me!"

Kassydie leaned over the table and kissed her baby sister's forehead. "You remember what I always tell you?"

Jamie looked up at her, "That the Goblin King wants us to live with him?" Jamie smiled.

Kassydie nodded, "It's true."

Jamie shook her head, "I'm too old for fairy tales." But her sheepish expression said she still believed.

"If you truly want to leave you have to say the words."

Jamie looked up at Kassydie. She knew the words. Kassydie had always told them in her story. Jamie had thought about saying them before but she'd never been brave enough. She claimed not to believe in fairy stories but she did, deep down.

"I'll do it." Jamie warned, "I'll say the words."

Kassydie kept her expression from getting hopeful. "Only if you really mean it."

Jamie looked up at her big sister with emerald eyes and thought about what would happen if she really did say the words. She felt that her mother didn't love her any more, and the people her mother brought home these days were getting worse and Kassydie kept having to beat them off and drive away with Jamie until they left. Jamie hated it. She didn't want to be here any more.

And then she worried about the magic words not working. What would she do if they didn't?

Jamie took a deep breath and looked at her sister bravely. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away. Right now."

Somewhere back in the Monarch house, a crystal popped, as if it had only ever been a bubble.

**I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad that this is over! It's been so much fun to write and I'll miss it! I wish I could've made this chapter longer but I felt that it was perfect this way. I love all of you! Everyone was so patient with me and so nice about the story (even though it just sucked sometimes).**

**I want to say thank you to all of my friends! They put up with me talking about it and bragging about having readers in OTHER countries as well as getting reviews and word count and, well, anything I could possibly brag about concerning a fanfic!**

**I want to dedicate this fic to my friend Nixter! I know that's supposed to be done at the beginning but I'm doing it now! She loves Labyrinth **_**almost**_** as much as I do and she inspired me a lot! Also, JustPeachyGreen was a huge encouragement, even when she was yelling at me to update sooner!**

**Thank you everyone! I feel so grateful!**


	17. Epilogue

**Okay! I'm sorry for not writing an epilogue. I couldn't figure out what to add to the story but now I've got it!**

In his world fifteen years is nothing more than the descent of a feather. Compared to his own lifespan fifteen years wasn't even a twitch of the fingers.

But time runs the same for all creatures. Fifteen years is an agonizing amount of time to wait for a woman.

And he was waiting for two.

His truest love and his daughter. He ached to hold them both.

As the child he grew to love as his own lived and learned in the world of mortals he wished desperately for her to say the words that would reunite them all. Hope burned in his chest when she cried and ran from her life. Hope that she had finally grown out of the reality she found herself in; hope that she finally understood that there was a better place for her. And his heart burst with shattered dreams when she decided fairies couldn't help her, when she was too stubborn to say the words.

And his love waited patiently for the child to grow old enough to understand the choices she had. She worked so hard to ensure that the little one had the chance to make a fair decision and her capacity to wait depressed him for he was an impatient and selfish man.

His need for them made him unable to stay out of their lives though he knew he should. He left presents for his daughter, trying to entice her too him with the promise of all the things he would spoil her with. And the love of his immortal life smiled knowingly at the treasures the child found and cradled the crystal in her hands as she slept, so they could see each other in the briefness of fading dreams.

He waited.

And fifteen years went by, his love for the mortal woman leaving her unchanged as the baby grew.

When they finally returned to him he believed he did not have the ability to let them go again.

Because they were his now, forever.

**It's probably not the most satisfactory epilogue, (but epilogues suck). I wanted it to kind of mimic the preface I made and I think this is a good way for me to finish this story. I'm so happy that so many people love this fic so much! It's amazing to see all of the reviews begging for a sequel. Honestly, I don't think I could make a sequel to this. I really hope that this story inspires other people though! Who knows? Maybe you could make the sequel? Or a oneshot. :) You could tell everyone what Jareth did after Kassydie, or before her, (I'm a bit of a Sange/Jareth fan myself, two generations between Sarah and Kassydie with that hot kelpie around? Mrow! :3)**

**Anyway, I'm glad everyone liked this so much! I'll do my best to fall in love again soon!**


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